UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


• 


ns.nl/uCUaOfSajfAitiillimSiaHaifAt3UK/iaM. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  m  the  year  1848 

11  r  HALL  &  DICKSON, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Northern 
District  of  New  York. 


H'il 


w?  vu 


PREFACE 


IT  was  with  great  diffidence  and  reluctance  that  I  undertook 
the  work  now  offered  to  the  public.  My  "  Political  History," 
which  was  published  in  the  year  1842,  had  been  better  re- 
ceived than  I  had  anticipated.  The  press  of  both  political 
parties  had  treated  it  not  only  with  liberal  indulgence,  but 
with  kindness  ;  and  I  had,  perhaps  wisely,  certainly  prudently, 
determined  not  to  hazard,  by  another  appearance  before  the 
public,  the  forfeiture  of  the  favorable  opinion  which  had  been 
expressed.  Within  two  or  three  of  the  last  years,  friends  re- 
siding in  various  parts  of  the  state,  belonging  to  different  par- 
ties, have  urged  me  to  continue  my  narrative  of  political  parties, 
but  I  have  uniformly  replied,  that  the  difficulty  of  describing 
with  accuracy  and  truth  the  conduct  of  men  now  acting  a 
prominent  part  on  the  political  theatre,  without  partiality  to 
personal  friends,  (I  am  not  aware  that  I  have  any  enemies,) 
was  so  great,  that  I  had  not  the  temerity  to  engage  in  the  en- 
terprise. But  immediately  after  the  sudden  and  unexpected 
death  of  the  late  Governor  Wright,  several  gentlemen,  whose 
opinions  were  entitled  to  my  highest  confidence  and  regard, 
requested  me  to  compile  the  biography  of  that  distinguished 
statesman.  Although  I  had  reason  to  doubt,  and  in  truth  did 
doubt,  my  ability  to  do  justice  to  the  memory  of  that  great 
and  good  man,  and  to  the  reading  public,  I  confess  that  I  felt 
a  desire  to  make  the  effort.  In  considering  the  course  to  be 
pursued  in  writing  the  Life  of  Mr.  Wright,  it  immediately  oc- 
curred to  me,  that  for  the  last  six  or  seven  years  he  had 
been  so  connected  with  the  political  parties  in  this  state,  and 
his  actions  and  fortunes  had  been  so  much  influenced  by  the 

1647S5 


action  and  fate  of  those  parties,  that  his  life  could  not  be 
written  as  it  should  be,  without  at  the  same  time  giving  a 
prrtiy  full  account  of  many  of  the  most  distinguished  politi- 
cians in  the  state  and  nation,  who  have  recently  been  active 
in  public  life,  and  who  have  to  a  considerable  extent  influenced 
public  opinion  ;  and,  in  fact,  that  a  correct  and  full  history  of 
A  KiciiT  from  the  year  1840  to  the  close  of  his  admin- 
istration of  the  government  of  this  state  in  1846,  would  n*'- 
cessnrily  be  the  political  history  of  the  state  during  that  period. 
I  was  thus  led  to  the  attempt  which  has  resulted  in  the  pro- 
duction of  what  is  contained  in  the  following  sheets.  Those 
who  may  take  the  trouble  of  perusing  them,  will  find  that 
until  the  year  1841,  to  which  time,  by  my  former  work,  the 
political  history  of  the  state  is  brought  down,  I  have  confined 
myself  entirely  to  the  history  of  the  Life  of  Wright.  In  con- 
tinuing the  account  of  his  life  from  the  year  1840  to  the  close 
of  his  administration  of  the  government  of  New  York,  the  his- 
tory of  the  political  parties  which  existed  during  that  period 
is  naturally  and  almost  necessarily  resumed  and  continued. 
After  he  retired  from  the  gubernatorial  chair,  there  remains 
to  his  biographer  little  other  labor  than  the  painful  task  of  re- 
cording his  death. 

So  far  as  relates  to  that  portion  of  this  volume  which  treats 
ol  the  political  history  of  the  state,  I  dare  not  hope  that  I 
have  done  full  justice  to  the  subject. 

I  ha\.-  not,  during  any  part  of  the  period  about  which  I 
have  written,  personally  mingled  in  the  controversies  which 
have  prevailed.  Indeed,  I  have  not  frequently  within  that 
time  vi>iu-d  tin-  seat  of  government,  which  is  the  great  theatre 
of  the  operations  of  parties.  It  is  therefore  highly  probable 
that  some  material  circumstances,  which  had  an  important  bear- 
ing on  the  events  which  have  occurred,  may  not  have  been 
known  to  me.  My  account  of  the  movements  of  the  whig 
party,  and  of  the  action  of  distinguished  wings,  may  not  be 


PREFACE.  5 

30  ample  as  is  desirable  it  should  have  been;  and  it  will 
be  found,  and  perhaps  be  a  subject  of  complaint  by  some 
readers,  that  much  more  space  is  occupied  in  narrating 
the  conduct  of  the  democratic  than  the  whig  party.  The 
only  reason  I  can  offer  for  this  is,  that  during  much  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  from  the  close  of  the  year  1840  to 
that  of  1846,  the  whigs  were  in  the  minority,  and  therefore 
their  party  movements  did  not  and  could  not  engross  so  much 
of  the  attention  of  a  spectator  as  the  operations  of  that  party 
which  controlled  the  patronage  and  measures  of  the  state. 
For  the  same  reason,  the  dissensions  among  the  whigs  them- 
selves were  not  so  visible,  and  could  not  be  so  accurately  de- 
scribed as  the  feuds  which  have  existed  in  the  democratic 
party.  The  description  of  those  feuds  has  imposed  on  me  a 
task  of  great  delicacy  and  difficulty.  While  on  one  great 
question  about  which  the  two  sections  of  the  democratic  party 
differ,  it  is  well  known  that  I  agree  with  the  radicals,  many, 
perhaps  a  majority  of  my  most  valued  personal  friends,  belong 
to  that  section  who  have  been  denominated  hunkers.  My 
difficulties  and  embarrassments  in  the  attempt  to  give  a  cor- 
rect account  of  these  two  sections,  when  I  approached  the 
year  1842,  in  consequence  of  the  various  currents,  counter- 
currents,  and  under-currents  which  were  put  in  motion,  were 
increased  to  a  degree  almost  insurmountable.  How  I  have 
succeeded  in  working  my  way  through  this  abyss  "  of  neither 
sea  nor  good  dry  land,"  must  be  submitted  to  an  intelligent,  and, 
as  by  experience  I  have  heretofore  found,  a  liberal  community. 
With  respect  to  the  principal  object  of  this  work,  THE  LIFE 
OF  MR.  WRIGHT,  I  will  merely  remark,  that  in  my  judgment, 
to  describe  the  man  as  he  really  was,  and  his  actions,  both  in 
public  and  private  life,  as  they  truly  were,  was  the  imperious 
duty  of  his  biographer ;  and  that  a  simple  narrative,  "  a  plain 
tale,"  embracing  those  objects,  is  the  best  eulogy  of  a  great 
und  good  man. 


The  chapter  which  contains  the  account  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  convention  to  revise  the  constitution,  is  a  mere  digest 
of  the  reports  of  the  doings  of  that  body.  It  has  been  made 
principally  from  the  reports  as  published  by  Messrs.  Croswell 
and  Sutton. 

UN  believed  that  it  will  be  found  to  present  a  pretty  clear 
view  of  the  material  points  decided  by  the  convention,  and  of 
the  couiXe  of  reasoning  which  led  to  the  results  to  which  that 
assembly  arrived,  so  abbreviated,  simplified,  and  arranged  as 
will  .nable  the  student  of  constitutional  law,  by  a  few  hours' 
n-:i(liM<r,  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  great  and  leading  princi- 
ples which  controlled  the  action  of  the  framers  of  our  present 
constitution. 

Many  important  suggestions  and  interesting  facts  have  been 
kindly  communicated  to  me  by  gentlemen  attached  to  differ- 
ent political  parties  and  sections  of  parties.  In  compiling  this 
work,  I  have  made  a  free  and  liberal  use  of  those  facts  and 
suggestions.  It  would  give  me  great  pleasure  were  I  permit- 
ted to  mention  the  names  of  these  gentlemen ;  but  I  do  not 
feel  authorized  to  do  so  without  their  express  consent,  and  I 
therefore  avail  myself  of  the  present  occasion  to  return  them 
my  cordial  thanks. 

The  free  access  to  the  files  of  the  Albany  Argus,  the  Even- 
ing Journal,  and  the  Albany  Atlas,  which  has  been  courteous- 
ly accorded  to  me  by  the  conductors  of  those  journals,  has 
greatly  facilitated  my  labors  ;  but  I  am  more  especially  in- 
debted to  the  connections  and  friends  of  Gov.  Wright,  who 
reside  in  the  county  of  St.  Lawrence,  for  much  valuable  in- 
formation respecting  the  private  life  and  character  of  that  vir- 
tuous citizen  and  eminent  statesman. 

J.  D.  H. 
CHCUY  VALLEY,  May  1,  1848. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Introduction— Birth  and  Childhood  of  Silas  Wright— Academical  and 
Collegiate  Education— Remarks  on  School-keeping  by  Students  of  the 
New  England  Colleges— He  studies  Law  at  Sandy  Hill— Is  admitted 
an  Attorney  of  the  Supreme  Court — His  Journey  through  Western 
New  York — Locates  himself  in  Canton,  St  Lawrence  County — The 
first  Public  Offices  which  he  held— His  services  in  the  Militia  of  St. 
Lawrence  County Page  13 

CHAPTER  II. 
Silas  Wright  at  Home, 28 

CHAPTER  III. 

Commencement  of  Mr.  Wright's  Political  Life — His  Nomination  and 
Election  to  the  Senate  of  New  York  from  the  Fourth  Senatorial  Dis- 
trict— His  action  on  the  Bill  providing  for  the  Election  of  Presidential 
Electors  by  the  People — His  attachment  to  the  Democratic  Party — 
H.  Seymour's  Opinion  of  Mr.  Wright— Governor  Yates  and  Colonel 
Young — Mr.  Wright  supports  the  renomination  of  Mr.  Yates  for  Gov- 
ernor— De  Witt  Clinton's  Removal  from  the  Office  of  Canal.  Commis- 
sioner— Attempt  to  elect  a  Senator  of  the  United  States — Electoral 
Law  of  1825 — Its  Repeal  in  1828 — Reflections  thereon — Numerous 
Applications  for  Bank  Charters  in  the  year  1826— Mr.  Wright's  Action 
upon  those  Applications 41 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Result  of  the  Election  in  November,  1825— Mr.  Wright's  Influence  in  the 
Senate — His  Manner  of  discussing  Questions — Case  of  Jasper  Ward — 
Mr.  Wright's  Report  thereon — He  is  elected  a  member  of  Congress  in 
November,  1826 66 

CHAPTER  V. 

Mr.  Clinton  re-elected  Governor  and  Gen.  Pitcher  Lieutenant-governor — 
Causes  of  this  Result— Mr.  Wright's  Confidential  Letter  to  Mr.  Van 
Buren  in  1826— Mr.  Wright's  Report  on  the  Petition  of  David  E.  Evans 
— Mr.  Flagg's  Report  on  the  Enlargement  of  the  Erie  Canal — Mr.  Rug- 
gles1  Report  on  the  State  Finances,  from  the  Committee  of  Ways  and 
Means — Mr.  Van  Buren  re-elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
—Mr.  Wright  resigns  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  New  York 78 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Mr.  Wright  takes  his  seat  as  a  Member  of  the  Twentieth  Congress — 
Presidential  Election  and  the  Tariff  Quest  ion— Tariff  of  1816— Tariff 


9  CONTENTS. 

Convention  at  Harrisburg— The  Southern  Scheme  of  conducting  the 
Election— Committee  on  Manufactures— Mr.  Wright  a  Member  of  it— 
His  Report— Debate  thereon  in  tlie  House  of  Representatives— Mr. 
Wright  attends  the  State  Convention  at  Herkimer  as  a  Delegate—- 
He  IB  nominated,  and  again  elected  to  Congress Page  97 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Mr.  Wright  is  appointed  Comptroller  of  the  State— The  Importance  of 
that  Office  and  its  high  Responsibilities— The  Chenango  and  other  pro- 
jected Canals— Mr.  Wright's  Report  in  1830— General  Fund— Mr. 
Wright  attends  the  State  Convention  and  successfully  advocates  the 
Nomination  of  Mr.  Throop  for  Governor,  who  is  elected — Mr.  Wright 
elected  Senator  of  the  United  States  in  the  winter  of  1833 113 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Senate  of  the  United  States— Mr.  Gillet's  contemplated  Work— Mr. 
Wright's  vote  on  the  Force  Bill  and  the  Compromise  Bill— He  opposes 
Mr.  Clay's  Land  Bill— Gen.  Jackson's  conduct  in  relation  to  the  Land 
Bill— Marriage  of  Mr.  Wright— Removal  of  the  Deposites  from  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States— Mr.  Clay's  Resolution,  and  Mr.  Wright's  Speech 
thereon— His  Speech  on  Mr.  Webster's  motion  to  Rechartc-r  the  United 
States  Bank— Session  of  1B34-5— Mr.  Wright  elected  a  member  of  the 
Committees  on  Finance  and  Commerce — His  Speech  on  tho  last  day  of 
the  Session— Mr.  Van  Bureu  elected  Vice-President—Mr.  Wright  is  a 
Member  of  the  Baltimore  Convention  at  the  Nomination  of  Van  Buren 
for  President — Mr.  Wright's  conduct  in  the  Senate  in  relation  to  the 
Anti-slavery  movements — Bill  for  the  Distribution  of  the  Surplus  Funds 
— Specie  Circular — 'Mr.  Wright  elected  Chairman  of  the  Finance  Com- 
mittee—In 1837,  re-elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  by  the  New 
York  Legislature '. 125 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Suspension  of  Specie  Payments  by  the  Banks — Extra  Session  of  Con- 
gress in  September,  1837 — Mr.  Wright's  Opinion  on  the  Subject  of  the 
Suspension  of  the  Banks  and  of  the  Independent  Treasury,  as  expressed 
by  him  previous  to  the  Extra  Session  of  Congress — At  the  Extra  Session 
Mr.  Wright  reports  the  Independent  Treasury  Bill — It  passes  the  Sen- 
ate, but  is  lost  in  the  House  of  Representatives — He  brings  in  the  same 
bill  at  the  Regular  Session,  but  it  fails  of  passing — July  4,  1840,  the 
Bill  becomes  a  Law — Mr.  Wright  votes  for  Mr.  Clay's  Resolution  against 
any  interference  with  Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia — Mr.  Wright's 
Oration  delivered  at  Canton  in  1839 — H.s  Efforts  to  promote  Mr.  Van 
Bureu's  Election  in  1840 147 

CHAPTER  X. 

Continuation  of  the  Political  History  of  the  State  of  New  York— Cata- 
logue of  the  Senators — Whig  and  Democratic  Caucuses  for  nomination 
of  Speaker — P.  B.  Porter,  Jr.  chosen  Speaker — Governor's  Message — 
General  Root's  Resolution  to  amend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States— Virginia  Controversy— The  Glentworth  Fraud— Removal  of 
Robert  H.  Morns  from  the  Office  of  Recorder  of  New  York— Freder- 


CONTENTS.  9 

5ck  A.  Ta!!m;i<ige  appointed  his  successor — Proceedings  on  the  Bill  to 
Abolish  Capital  Punishment— Bill  for  the  appointment  of  County  Su- 
perintendents of  Common  Schools — John  C.  Spencer — His  talents  and 
labors — E.  S.  Randall — Francis  Dwight — General  Harrison's  Inaugu- 
ration— His  Cabinet — His  Death — Mr.  Tyler's  Cabinet — John  C.  Spen- 
cer Secretary  of  War — Trial  and  Acquittal  of  Alexander  McLeod — 
William  Kent  appointed  Circuit  Judge  of  the  First  Circuit — Death  of 
Bates  Cook— Result  of  the  election  in  November,  1841 Page  1 W 

CHAPTER  XL 

Levi  S.  Chatfield  chosen  Speaker  of  the  Assembly — Unusual  number  of 
men  of  talents  this  year  elected  Members  of  that  House — Isaac  R.  El- 
wood  chosen  Clerk  of  the  Senate — Gov.  Seward'a  Message — Comptrol- 
ler's Report — Dispute  between  the  Governor  and  Senate  on  the  Bill  for 
the  Repeal  of  the  Law  in  relation  to  the  Receivers  of  Insolvent  Banks 
—Caucus  for  nominating  State  Officers— A.  C.  Flagg,  Comptroller,  S. 
Young,  Secretary  of  State,  George  P.  Barker,  Attorney-general,  Thom- 
as Fwrrington,  Treasurer,  Nathaniel  Jones,  Surveyor-general — Canal 
Commissioners — Debates  in  the  Senate  and  Assembly  on  the  Finances 
— Mr.  Hoffman's  Speech — Mr.  Flagg's  Report — Mr.  Hoffman's  Finan- 
cial Bill  of  1842— It  passes  the  Assembly— Proceedings  in  the  Senate 
thereon — Mr.  Dickinson's  Substitute,  and  Messrs.  Foster's  and  Faulk- 
ner's Amendments — The  People's  Resolutions — Indications  of  Dissen- 
sions in  the  Democratic  and  Whig  Parties — Virginia  Controversy  again 
discussed— Bill  for  removing  the  State  Printer — Vetoed  by  the  Governor 
— Proceedings  in  Congress — Mr.  Wright's  Speech  on  the  Loan  Bill— 
His  Speech  on  the  Bill  for  dividing  the  States  into  single  Congressional 
Districts— New  Tariff  Bill— Mr.  Wright's  Speech  on  this  Bill— Demo- 
cratic State  Convention — William  C.  Bouck  nominated  for  Governor — 
He  is  elected — D.  S.  Dickinson  elected  Lieuteuant-goveruor 249 

CHAPTER  XII. 

George  R.  Davis  nominated  and  elected  Speaker — Governor's  Message— 
Gov.  Bouck's  Birth  and  Education — Lyman  Sauford  appointed  Adju- 
tant-general— Agitation  of  the  Presidential  Question  at  Washington — 
Proceedings  on  board  the  Brig  Somers,  and  death  of  Mr.  Philip  Spencer 
— South  Carolina  Legislature  nominate  Mr.  Calhoun  for  President — 
Character  of  the  State  Officers  in  1843 — Course  of  the  Governor — Con- 
test respecting  State  Printer— E.  Croswell,  H.  H.  Van  Dyck— E.  Cros- 
well  appointed  State  Printer— Albany  Atlas— Mr.  Wright  re-electeri 
United  States  Senator — Mr.  Dickinson's  Resolution  in  relation  to  the 
conduct  of  Gov.  Bouck  as  Canal  Commissioner — The  distribution  of  tin- 
Books  containing  the  result  of  the  Geological  Survey — Young  HIH! 
Dickinson — Bill  for  abolishing  the  Office  of  Bank  Commissioner — Re- 
jection by  the  Senate  of  nominations  made  by  the  Governor 315 

CHAPTER  XIII.      • 

Character  of  Leading  Members  of  the  Legislature  of  1844 — Democratic 
Caucus  for  Speaker — Mr.  Litchfield  nominated  and  elected — James  K 
Rose  elected  Clerk — Governor's  Message — Meeting  at  Albany  of  the 
friends  of  a  Convention — Formation  of  the  Committees  of  the  Assembly 


10  CONTENTS. 

— Mr.  Foster's  Resolution  for  the  Reduction  of  Postage — Mr.  Foster 
elected  President  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate — Death  of  Judge  Cowen — 
Samuel  Beardsley  appointed  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court — Death  of 
Gen.  P.  B.  Porter — James  V.  L.  Pruyn  and  James  J.  Wadsworth  ap- 
pointed Regents  of  the  University — J.  P.  Cushman  resigns  the  office  of 
Circuit  Judge,  and  A.  J.  Parker  appointed  his  successor — Mr.  Farring- 
ton  appointed  Treasurer — J.  C.  Spencer  nominated  Associate  Justice  of 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court — His  nomination  is  rejected  by  the 
SiMiate—  Causes — Silas  Wright  nominated  for  same  Office — He  declines 
— Nomination  of  Chancellor  Walworth  for  same  Office — Afterwards 
the  Chancellor's  name  withdrawn  by  the  President,  when  Judge  Nel- 
*>n  was  nominated  and  appointed Page  369 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

G«n.  Chamberlain's  Resolutions — Mr.  Dennison's  Report  on  the  Canal 
Policy  and  Bill — Assembly's  Finance  Bill  amended  in  the  Senate,  and 
passes — The  state  of  feeling  in  the  Assembly  and  Senate  between  the 
Hunkers  and  Radicals— B.  F.  Hall's  Bill  for  a  Convention,  and  proceed- 
ings thereon — Bill  for  electing  Canal  Commissioners — Removal  of  Mr. 
Cassidy  from  the  office  of  State  Librarian— Policy  of  the  Whigs— Cal- 
vin H.  Hulburd — Democratic  Legislative  Caucus — Protest  of  the  minor- 
ity—Whig Legislative  Address..." 403 

CHAPTER  XV. 

BALTIMORE    CONVENTION. 

The  issue  on  which  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  beaten  in  1840— Annexation  of 
Texas — Mr.  Van  Buren's  Letter  to  Mr.  Hammit — Intrigues  at  Wash- 
ington— Two-third  Rule — Proceedings  at  the  Baltimore  Convention — 
Nomination  of  James  K.  Polk — Mr.  Wright  declines  to  be  a  Candidate 
for  Vice-President — George  M.  Dallas  is  nominated  Vice-Presideiu — 
Whig  Convention — Mr.  Clay  nominated  for  President — Mr.  Freling- 
huysen  for  Vice-President— Millard  Fillmore  supported  by  the  New 
York  Delegation — His  Character  437 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Public  feeling  on  the  announcement  of  the  Presidential  Nominations — 
Native  American  Party — Liberty  Party — Anti-Rent  Party — Two  sec- 
tions of  the  Whig  Party— Conservative  and  Radical— Difficulties  in  the 
selection  of  a  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor — Radical  papers  de- 
mand the  Nomination  of  Mr.  Wright— His  unwillingness  to  be  a 
Candidate— His  Letter  to  the  Editor  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Republican- 
Syracuse  Convention — Mr.  Wright  nominated  for  Governor — Whig 
State  Convention-secret  Circular — Mr.  Clay's  Letters — Their  Effect 
—Action  of  the  Native  American  Party— Also  of  the  Liberty  Party- 
Result  of  the  Election — Position  and  Policy  of  the  Governor  elect Mr. 

Wright  rfsigns  hi*  si\*t  in  the.  United  States  Senate — Governor  Bouck 
appoints  Messrs.  Dickinson  and  Foster  United  States  Senators  in  place 
of  Governor  Wright  and  N.  P.  Tallmadge.  ...  47(; 


CONTENTS.  11 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Condition  of  the  Democratic  Party  at  the  commencement  of  the  year  1845 
— Contest  about  the  nomination  of  Speaker — Mr.  Seymour  and  Col. 
Grain — Mr.  Seymour  is  nominated  and  elected — Governor's  Message — 
Caucus  to  nominate  State  Officers — Its  result — Caucus  to  nominate 
United  States  Senators — Messrs.  Dickinson  and  Dix  nominated  and 
elected— Mr.  Folk's  offer  to  appoint  Mr.  Wright  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury— Gov.  Marcy  appointed  Secretary  of  War Page  510 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Opinions  of  the  Hunker  and  Radical  Members  of  the  Legislature  of  1845 
on  the  subject  of  the  necessity  of  a  Constitutional  Convention — Differ- 
ent views  of  the  Hunkers,  Radicals,  and  Whigs  on  that  subject — Char- 
acter of  John  Young — Amendments  to  the  Constitution  proposed  by 
the  Legislature  of  18 14,  and  approved-  by  the  Electors  at  the  Novem- 
ber election  of  that  year — Action  of  the  Whig  Members  of  the  Legis- 
lature on  those  Amendments — Circumstances  which  led  to  the  passage 
of  a  Convention  Bill — Final  passage  of  the  Bill  in  the  Assembly — De- 
bate on  that  occasion — Proceedings  iu  the  Senate  on  the  Convention 
Bill— Its  final  passage  in  that  House— Passage  of  the  Canal  Bill— Is 
vetoed  by  the  Governor — Resignation  of  Judge  Kent,  and  appointment 
of  Judge  Edmonds  as  Circuit  Judge  of  the  First  Circuit 535 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Bill  to  prevent  persons  appearing  disguised  and  armed — Anti-rent  Conven- 
tion at  Bern — No  Democratic  legislative  Caucus  was  held  at  the  close 
of  the  session — Address  of  the  Radical  members — Whig  legislative  Cau- 
cus and  Address — Democratic  Mass  Meeting  at  Albany — Different  opin- 
ions as  to  the  course  pursued  by  Governor  Wright — J.  A.  Spencer  and 
Samuel  Young  elected  Senators — General  Result  of  the  Election  in 
November,  1845— Death  of  General  Jackson— Death  of  Judge  Suther- 
land—Death of  Francis  D wight— His  Character 562 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Legislature  of  1846 — Col.  Crain  and  Mr.  Bailey,  candidates  for  nomina- 
tion to  the  Speakership — Mr  Crain  nominated  and  elected  Speaker — 
Delos  W.  Dean,  Clerk — Anti-Rent  Outrages — Trial  of  the  Insurgents 
in  Delaware  County — Judge  Parker — John  Van  Buren — Governor's 
Message — Legislative  Proceedings — Debate  in  the  Senate  on  the  Reso- 
lutions proposed  by  Mr.  Jones — Bill  on  the  subject  of  State  Printer — 
Proceedings  and  Debates  thereon  in  the  Senate  and  Assembly — Act 
abolishing  Distress  for  Rent — Mr.  A.  G.  Chatfield  chosen  Speaker  pro 
tern. — Col.  Young  elected  President  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate — R.  E. 
Temple  appointed  Adjutant-General — Hiram  Gray  appointed  Judge  of 
the  Sixth  Circuit — L.  H.  Sanford  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  First  District- 
Death  of  Jonas  Earl 574 


12  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CONVENTION. 

Place  of  birth  of  the  Delegates— John  Tracy  elected  President— A  Com 
mitteo  of  seventeen  appointed  to  it-port  on  subjects  to  be  considered  by 
the  Convention — Their  Report — Debate  on  restricting  the  eligibility  of 
citizens  for  the  office  of  Governor — On  the  Executive  Veto— On  the 
Legislative  Department — Report  of  the  Judiciary  Committee — Of  the 
persons  who  composed  that  committee — Proceedings  on  Mr.  Chatfield's 
Report  (No.  6)  on  the  State  Officers— On  Gen.  Tallmadge's  Report, 
from  No.  11,  on  Rights  and  Privileges— Proceedings  in  Committee  of 
the  Whole  on  the  Report  from  the  Judiciary  Committee — Mr.  Hoff- 
man's Report  on  Canals,  the  Public  Revenue,  &.c.,  from  No.  3— Pro- 
ceedings in  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  Mr.  Hoffman's  Report — Mr. 
Cambreliug's  Speech  on  Currency  and  Banking — Debate  on  the  ques- 
tion of  extending  to  colored  freemen  an  equal  Right  of  Suffrage — Mr. 
Clyde's  Resolutions  in  relation  to  the  Tenure  of  Real  Estate — Final  ad- 
journment of  the  Convention — Concluding  Remarks Page  605 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Mexican  War — Speech  of  Mr.  John  Young  on  a  resolution  to  sup- 
port the  War — Legislative  Caucus  at  the  close  of  the  session — Whig 
legislative  Caucus  and  Address — National  Reformers — The  New  Scot- 
land Convention — Democratic  State  Convention  at  Syracuse — Address 
of  the  Convention — Whig  State  Convention — Aiiti-reut  Convention  at 
Albany — John  Young  elected  Governor  and  Addison  Gardiner  Lieuten- 
ant-governor— Speculation  on  the  causes  of  the  defeat  of  Gov.  Wright 
— Death  and  character  of  General  Root— Conclusion  of  Political  His- 
tory   671 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Life  of  Silas  Wright  resumed  and  continued— Manner  in  which  Mr 
Wright  receives  the  news  of  his  defeat — Letter  from  George  W.  Little, 
Esq.— Wilmot  Proviso— Mr.  P.  Kin^s  B.ll  including  the  Wilmot  Pro- 
viso— His  Speech  on  the  Bill — Resolution  of  the  New  York  Legislature 
on  the  subject  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso— Mr.  Wright  leaves  Albany  for 
Canton— His  Journey  from  Utica— Letter  from  Col.  Hiuman— Chicago 
Convention— Mr.  Wright's  Reply  to  the  Committee  who  invited  his  at- 
tendance— Mr.  Wright's  Address  at  the  Saratoga  Agricultural  Fair — 
His  Manner  of  Life  after  his  return  to  Canton— His  Death 700 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Proceedings  on  the  Death  of  Mr.  Wright,  at  Albany— New  York— Tam- 
many Society— State  Legislature— Wisconsin— Presentation  of  Plate 
by  the  New  York  Merchants  to  Mrs.  Wright— Funeral  Sermon  by  Mr. 
Johnson — Remarks  on  the  Character  of  Silas  Wright 733 

APPENDIX ...  745 


LIFE   OF    SILAS    WRIGHT, 


CHAPTER  I. 

Introduction— Birth  and  Childhood  of  Silas  Wright— Academical  and 
Collegiate  Education — Remarks  on  School-keeping  by  Students  of  the 
New  England  Colleges— He  studies  Law  at  Sandy  Hill— Is  admitted 
an  Attorney  of  the  Supreme  Court — His  Journey  through  Western 
New  York — Locates  himself  in  Canton,  St.  Lawrence  County — Th« 
first  Public  Offices  which  he  held — His  services  in  the  Militia  of  St. 
Lawrence  County. 

WHEN  an  individual  of  obscure  birth,  without  the  aid 
of  influential  relations,  without  wealth,  and  without  that 
glory  which  is  sometimes  gained  by  the  daring  and  bril- 
liant achievements  of  the  soldier  of  fortune,  rises  to  an 
eminent  rank  in  society,  and  acquires  the  esteem  and  ad- 
miration of  a  great  country,  the  attention  of  the  philoso- 
pher as  well  as  the  curiosity  of  the  lover  of  history,  is 
naturally  directed  to  an  inquiry  into  the  causes  which 
have  produced  such  auspicious  results. 

In  despotic  governments  it  not  unfrequently  happens 
that  men  in  the  lowest  ranks  of  life  are  suddenly  elevated 
to  the  highest  by  the  fiat  of  the  sovereign  of  the  country  : 
thus  a  Hebrew  slave  spends  the  night  in  a  loathsome 
dungeon,  an  inmate  with  the  vilest  felons,  and  the  next 
morning  becomes  second  only  in  wealth  and  power  to  a 
great  monarch  ;  and  in  one  short  hour  the  slave  in  Tur- 
key is  elevated  to  the  station  and  authority  of  prime  rnin- 


14  LI*£    OF    dILAri    WRIGHT. 

ister  of  a  mighty  empire.  The  cause  of  events  like  these 
is  found  in  the  partiality  and  freaks  of  passion  of  a  sin- 
gle individual — the  reigning  despot.  His  favorites  have 
"  greatness  cast  upon  them."  Not  so  with  the  poor  and 
obscure  child  who  is  born  and  grows  up  to  manhood  in 
the  United  States  of  America.  He  can  only  rise  to  in- 
fluence, he  can  only  acquire  power,  by  gaining  the  good 
opinion,  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands, who  at  their  option  withhold  or  bestow  that  es- 
teem and  confidence.  Hence  the  means  by  which  he 
gains  the  preference  of  his  fellow-citizens  becomes  an  in- 
teresting subject  of  inquiry,  not  only  for  the  gratification 
of  the  curiosity  of  the  student  of  history,  but  as  furnishing 
•A  demonstration  of  the  value  of  our  free  institutions  in 
encouraging,  fostering,  and  rewarding  merit,  talent,  and 
virtue,  however  humble  their  origin,  and  as  affording  to 
our  youth  the  highest  inducement  to  persevering  indus- 
try, to  the  practice  of  all  the  public  and  private  virtues, 
to  the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge,  and  of  an  elevated, 
enlarged,  and  ardent  patriotism.  With  this  view  the  at- 
tention of  the  reader  is  invited  to  the  History  of  the  Life 
of  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

Mr.  Wright  was  born  in  the  town  of  Amherst,  in  the 
county  of  Hampshire,  and  state  of  Massachusetts,  on  the 
24th  day  of  May,  in  the  year  1795.  His  father's  Chris- 
tian name  was  Silas,  and  therefore  the  subject  of  these 
memoirs  was  for  a  long  time  known  in  this  state*  as  Si- 
las Wright,  Jr.  The  ancestors  of  Mr.  Wright  belonged 
to  the  Pilgrims  of  New  England,  and  were  among  the 
earliest  emigrants  who  fled  from  England  to  the  bleak 


Until  the  death  of  his  father,  which  happened  within  a  few  yeare 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT  15 

and  barren  shores  of  Massachusetts,  for  the  sake  of  en- 
joying civil  and  religious  liberty.  They  must  have  emi- 
grated in  the  first  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It 
appears  that  Mr.  Samuel  Wright,  from  whom  Mr.  Silas 
Wright  traced  a  direct  lineal  descent,  died  at  Northamp- 
ton, in  Massachusetts,  of  which  place  he  had  for  some 
time  been  an  inhabitant,  in  the  year  1665. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Wright,  though  for  a  son  of  the  old 
Pilgrim  State  he  was  much  restricted  in  his  education 
even  as  respects  the  common  branches  of  learning,  is  de- 
scribed as  a  man  who  possessed  a  clear  and  discerning 
mind,  and  an  excellent  judgment.  He  was  bred  a  me- 
chanic, but  in  afterlife  purchased  a  farm,  and  became 
and  continued  to  be  a  practical  farmer  till  his  death.* 

Mr.  Wright's  mother  was  better  educated  than  most 
of  the  young  women  in  the  country  where  she  resided. 
She  is  described  as  having  possessed  more  than  ordinary 
intellectual  power  ;  and  she  undoubtedly  had  a  great  and 
paramount  influence  in  giving  an  early  direction  to  the 
infant  mind  of  Silas,  who  was  soon  distinguished  as  a  lad 
of  great  promise,  and  seems  to  have  been  so  regarded  by 
both  his  parents  ;  for,  from  a  family  consisting  of  seven 
children,  four  sons  and  three  daughters,  he  was  selected 
as  the  only  one  on  whom  should  be  bestowed  the  benefit 
of  a  collegiate  education. 

Tn  February,  1796,  when  Silas  was  less  than  a  year 
old,  his  father  removed  from  Amherst,  his  native  town,  to 
Weybridge,  in  Vermont,  where  he  purchased  a  farm,  and 
where  he  continued  to  reside  till  his  death.  Thus,  al- 
though the  distinguished  individual  of  whose  life  we  are 


*  In  Vermont  he  was  several  times  elected  a  member  of  the  legislature 
of  that  state. 


16  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

now  attempting  to  give  a  sketch,  was  not  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, having  received  his  education  there,  and  lived  there 
from  the  time  he  was  nine  months  old  until  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  his  profession,  he  may  be  regarded 
as  a  son  of  the  Green  Mountain  State. 

Mr.  Wright,  until  he  was  fourteen  years  old,  lived  in 
his  father's  family;  and,  in  accordance  with  a  custom 
almost  universally  prevalent  in  Vermont,  as  soon  as  he 
had  acquired  sufficient  age  and  strength  to  labor  at  all, 
worked  daily  on  the  farm  in  summer,  and  attended  the 
district  school  in  the  winter. 

At  about  the  age  of  fourteen  he  entered  as  a  student 
in  the  academy  at  Middlebury,  in  Vermont,  and  was  so 
successful  in  the  prosecution  of  his  academical  studies, 
that  in  August,  1811,  he  was  admitted  as  a  member  of 
tlie  Freshman  Class  at  Middlebury  College,  at  which  in- 
stitution he  was  graduated  in  the  year  1815. 

In  order  to  aid  young  men  of  limited  pecuniary  means 
in  defraying  their  expenses  while  at  college,  it  is  usual  in 
most  of  the  eastern  colleges  to  permit  the  students  to  be 
absent  during  the  winter,  provided  they  desire  to  employ 
that  portion  of  their  time  in  teaching,  and  provided  their 
diligence  and  success  in  prosecuting  their  studies  during 
their  actual  attendance  at  college,  have  been  such  as  to 
warrant  the  expectation  that  at  the  end  of  the  collegiate 
year  they  will  be  able  to  pass  such  an  examination  as  will 
merit  the  approbation  of  the  faculty  of  the  institution. 
Mr.  Wright  availed  himself  of  this  custom,  and  taught  a 
c« uninon  district  school  one  winter,  at  Provost's  Corners, 
in  Addison  county,  and  two  winters  at  the  town  of  Or- 
ville,  in  Rutland  county,  in  the  state  of  Vermont. 

We  admire  this  custom,  which  has  long  prevailed  in 
the  colleges  in  New  England.  We  wish  the  practice 


LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT.  17 

could  be  introduced  into  the  colleges  of  this  state.*  In 
our  judgment  it  is  in  various  ways  calculated  to  be  useful. 
It  furnishes  the  indigent  student  with  means,  acquired  by 
his  own  labor  and  industry,  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his 
education,  and  thus  enables  him  to  pursue  his  studies,  and 
preserve  his  personal  independence,  and  to  avoid  the  deg- 
radation, at  least  in  feeling,  of  living  on  the  charitable  dona- 
tions from  ladies'  societies,  or  other  benevolent  institutions. 
It  gives  to  the  district  schools  competent  and  able  teach- 
ers ;  and  the  exercise  of  teaching  and  of  governing  a  school 
furnishes  the  teacher  himself  with  perhaps  the  best  means 
of  obtaining  a  correct  insight  into  the  human  character 
from  its  developments  by  children  and  unsophisticated 
youth,  while  it  leaves  the  young  teacher,  who  is  himself 
a  learner,  sufficient  leisure  to  consider  and  reflect  upon 
the  studies  he  has  pursued  the  preceding  summer  and 
autumn. 

Some  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  New  England, 
among  whom  we  may  mention  the  elder  Adams,  have 
commenced  their  business  life  by  teaching  a  common 
school  while  they  were  themselves  students  at  college. 
We  have  no  direct  information  respecting  the  success  of 
Mr.  Wright  as  a  teacher,  but  from  the  patience,  diligence, 
skill,  and  address  with  which,  in  afterlife,  he  pursued  his 
various  avocations,  we  have  no  doubt  he  discharged  his 
duty  as  a  schoolmaster  in  a  manner  useful  to  his  pupils, 
and  satisfactory  to  his  employers  ;  and  if  so,  who  shall 
say  but  that  Silas  Wright,  in  this  humble  employment, 
may  not,  during  the  short  time  he  was  engaged  in  itr 
have  done  as  much  real  good,  as  when  subsequently  oc- 


*  The  author  has  beea  recently  informed  that  this  laudable  custom  ha» 
been  partially  adopted  iu  Union  and  Hamilton  colleges. 

2 


18  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

cupying  some  of  the  most  conspicuous  and  important 
stations  in  the  country,  he  justly  merited  and  received 
the  plaudits  of  a  great  nation  ? 

A  worthy  and  much-respected  clergyman,*  who  was 
in  college  with  Mr.  Wright,  in  a  letter  to  the  author, 
written  since  the  death  of  Mr.  W.,  says  : — 

"  My  first  acquaintance  with  him  [Wright]  com- 
menced when  we  were  lads  together.  At  that  early 
period  his  frankness,  his  unbending  regard  to  truth,  and 
his  perfectly  upright  and  fair  dealing,  were  not  only  con- 
spicuous, but  were  proverbial  among  his  associates.  His 
natural  temper  was  mild  and  attractive.  In  the  acade- 
my, while  pursuing  studies  preparatory  to  entering  col- 
lege, he  was  an  industrious  student,  and  several  times 
was  the  successful  competitor  for  the  small  prizes  prof- 
fered to  excite  emulation.  In  college  he  stood  fair  as  a 
scholar,  and  high  as  a  young  man  of  correct  moral  prin- 
ciples and  irreproachable  habits." 

Mr.  Wright  was  a  member  of  Middlebury  College  du- 
ring those  years  in  which  the  United  States  were  at  war 
with  Great  Britain.  Political  disputes,  during  that  period, 
were  very  rife  in  the  northern  and  eastern  states,  and  in 
no  state  were  they  more  bitter  than  in  the  state  of  Ver- 
mont. Party  feeling  was  probably  the  more  ardent  and 
excited  there  in  consequence  of  the  approach  of  a  British 
army,  during  the  period  we  have  mentioned,  near  the 
western  line  of  Vermont.  Although  it  is  to  be  regretted 
that  political  differences,  and  especially  that  partisan  zeal 
and  prejudices  should  ever  be  permitted  to  enter  our  lit- 
erary institutions,  or  occupy  for  a  moment  the  attention 
of  students  at  our  universities,  it  is,  nevertheless,  not  sur- 


Rev.  II.  8.  Juhusou  of  Caiitou. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  19 

prising  that  at  this  time  the  minds  of  the  ardent  and 
spirited  young  men  who  were  students  at  Middlebury 
College,  should  have  participated  in  the  excitement  which 
prevailed  all  around  them.  They  did  indeed  mingle  in 
the  contest,  and  attached  themselves  to  one  or  the  other 
of  the  two  great  parties,  as  to  them  respectively  seemed 
right  and  proper.  Mr.  Wright  took  ground  in  support 
of  the  war,  of  Mr.  Madison's  administration,  and  the 
Republican  party.  It  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  the 
contest  in  which  he  then  engaged,  with  a  formidable  ma- 
jority of  his  fellow-students,  had  a  considerable  influence 
in  fastening  on  his  mind  a  predilection  for  that  party 
which  he  believed  was  the  Republican  party,  and  which, 
it  appears,  had  a  controlling  effect  upon  his  conduct  du- 
ring the  remainder  of  his  life. 

Immediately  after  Mr.  Wright  was  graduated  at  Mid- 
dlebury College,  and  in  the  month  of  October,  1815,  he 
came  into  the  state  of  New  York,  and  commenced  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  Henry  C.  Martin- 
dale,  a  gentleman  who  held  a  respectable  standing  as  a 
lawyer,  and  who  was  afterwards  for  several  successive- 
terms  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  for  the  district  in 
which  he  resided.  Mr.  Wright  pursued  his  studies  in 
the  office  of  Mr.  Martindale,  at  Sandy  Hill,  in  Washing- 
ton county,  about  a  year  and  a  half,  when  he  left  the 
office  of  Mr.  Martindale,  and  completed  the  study  of  his 
profession  under  the  direction  of  Roger  Skinner,  after- 
wards elected  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  this  state,  and 
subsequently  appointed  United  States  Judge  of  the  North- 
ern District  of  New  York.  Judge  Skinner  then,  and  for 
some  time  after  Mr.  Wright  was  admitted  an  attorney 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  kept  an  office  in  the  village  of 


20  LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

Sandy  Hill.*  We  are  aware  that  it  has  been  siated  that 
Mr.  Wright  read  law  with  Judge  Skinner  in  the  city  of 
Albany,  but  this  is  an  error ;  Mr.  Wright  never  was  in 
Albany,  except  merely  to  pass  through  it,  until  he  came 
there  as  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  in  the  year  1824. 
The  author  takes  leave  to  remark  in  passing,  that  before 
Mr.  Wright  was  known  to  him  as  a  legislator  or  a  pol- 
itician, he  has  frequently  heard  Judge  Skinner  speak 
in  terms  of  high  commendation  both  of  his  head  and 
heart.  In  the  January  term  of  1819,  Mr.  Wright  was 
admitted  an  attorney  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

After,  and  indeed  before  Mr.  Wright  had  obtained  his 
license,  his  health  had  become  so  much  impaired,  proba- 
bly in  consequence  of  confinement  in  a  law-office,  and 
the  laborious  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a  clerk,  together 
with  a  too  severe  application  to  his  studies,  that  his  friends 
became  alarmed  on  his  account,  and  urged  him  to  under- 
take a  journey  on  horseback  through  the  western  parts 
of  the  state  of  New  York,  He  followed  their  advice, 
probably  with  the  less  reluctance,  as  he  must  then  have 
been  anxious  to  discover  the  most  eligible  place  in  which 
he  could  commence  business  with  a  reasonable  prospect 
of  success,  and  because  he  was  desirous  personally  to  see 
and  explore  the  great  West,  of  which  he  had  heard  so 
much.  To  him  it  was  not  only  a  journey  in  pursuit  of 
health,  but  it  was  an  expedition  in  search  of  a  place 
which  he  might  select  for  his  future  residence.  On  set- 
ting  out  upon  such  a  journey,  and  for  such  purposes,  his 
feelings  must  have  been  highly  excited.  He  was  desti- 


*  While  Mr.  Wright  Was  reading  law  under  the  d!-ection  of  Judge 
Skinner,  in  order  to  preserve  his  pecuniary  independence,  lie  again  devo- 
ted several  months  to  the  business  of  teaching  a  school  at  Fort  Miller 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  21 

tute  of  wealth  and  influential  connections ;  but  "  the 
world  was  all  before  him  where  to  choose  his  place  of 
rest,  and  Providence  his  guide."  What  must  have  been 
the  hopes  and  fears  which  alternately  agitated  the  noble 
mind  of  the  young  Vermonter,  can  by  men  who  in  youth 
have  undertaken  similar  enterprises,  better  be  imagined 
than  described. 

After  travelling  through  a  considerable  part  of  western 
New  York,  Mr.  Wright  in  returning  directed  his  course 
northerly,  which  finally  brought  him  into  the  county  of 
St.  Lawrence,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  then  an  un- 
broken wilderness. 

A  few  houses  were  at  that  time  erected  on  the  spot 
where  the  fine  and  flourishing  village  of  Canton  now 
stands.  Thither  Mr.  Wright  directed  his  steps.  The 
courts  in  the  county  of  St.  Lawrence  were  then  held  at 
Ogdensburg,  and  no  doubt  the  forecast  of  Wright  enabled 
him  to  perceive  that  the  seat  of  justice  would  ere  long  be 
removed  to  a  more  central  part  of  the  county.  Canton 
was  much  nearer  the  geographical  centre  than  Ogdens- 
burg, and  his  sagacious  mind  must  soon  have  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  that  the  county-seat  would  probably  be  soon 
removed  from  the  latter  to  the  former  village.  It  is  to 
be  presumed  that  some  such  considerations  as  we  have 
suggested  led  him  to  visit  Canton.  When  he  arrived 
there,  he  was  delighted  to  find  located  in  that  place  an 
old  and  much  esteemed  friend  of  his  father,  Capt.  Medad 
Moody,  who  several  years  before  had  removed  from  Wey- 
bridge  in  Vermont,  to  the  county  of  St.  Lawrence.  Mr. 
Moody  was  no  less  pleased  on  seeing  and  welcoming  to 
his  house  the  son  of  his  valued  neighbor  and  associate  of 
former  days.  Mr.  Wright  also  found  in  this  village  oth- 
ers of  the  friends  and  neighbors  of  his  father,  whom  he 


22  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

had  known  in  the  days  of  his  childhood,— perhaps  the  hap- 
piest portion  of  human  life.  The  recollection  of  those 
days  reminds  us  of  home ;  they  bring  vividly  to  our  view, 
and  we  again  enjoy,  sweet  home  as  it  was  in  the  days  of 
innocence  and  peace,  when  the  heart,  only  alive  to  the 
enjoyment  of  innocent  pleasures,  was  unacquainted  with 
the  struggles  of  ambitious  rivalry,  jealousy,  and  envy. 
The  love  of  home  is  the  source  and  foundation  of  all  the 
emotions  of  patriotism  which  spring  up  in  the  human 
heart. 

Mr.  Moody  expressed  to  Mr.  Wright  his  anxious  de- 
sire that  he  should  locate  himself  permanently  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Canton ;  and  as  an  inducement  to  Mr.  W.  to 
accede  to  his  wishes,  he  offered  to  build,  and  did  event- 
ually "  build  a  small  office  for  him,"  says  Mr.  Horace 
Moody,  the  son  of  Capt.  Moody,  and  a  brother  to  her  who 
was  afterwards  the  wife  of  the  lamented  Wright,  in  a 
letter  to  the  author,  "  with  two  rooms,  one  of  which  he 
occupied  for  his  sleeping  apartment,  and  the  other  for  a 
law-office.  He  continued,"  says  young  Mr.  Moody,  "  to 
occupy  the  law-office  until  his  duties  as  comptroller  took 
him  to  Albany."  After  Mr.  Wright  made  up  his  mind  to 
settle  in  Canton,  he  remained  a  short  time  in  the  family 
of  Mr.  Moody;  but  in  October,  1819,  as  Mr.  Horace 
Moody  states,  "  he  returned  to  Vermont,  when  his 
brother  Samuel,  with  his  own  conveyance,  brought  him 
again  to  Canton,  and  he  took  up  his  abode  in  the  family 
of  Mr.  Moody,  which  he  made  his  home  until  he  com- 
menced keeping  house  for  himself.  Upon  leaving  his 
father's  house,  his  mother  gave  him  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  bedding  for  his  own  use,  which  was  all  he  brought 
with  him,  and  all  the  personal  property  he  had  in  the 
world.  At  a  subsequent  visit  to  his  parents,"  continues 


LIFE  SILAS    \VR1G    T.  23 

Mr.  II.  Moody,  "  his  father  presented  him  with  a  fine  young 
horse,  which  he  brought  to  Canton,  and  although  in  after- 
life, there  was  but  little  of  the  time  that  he  did  not  own  a 
first-rate  yoke  o:  working  oxen,  that  was  the  only  horse 
he  ever  had." 

Here  in  a  little  village,  surrounded  by  the  extensive 
and  dense  forests  with  which  the  great  county  of  St.  Law- 
rence was  then  covered,  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  Silas 
Wright,  with  the  few  necessary  articles  of  furniture 
given  him  by  his  kind  and  affectionate  mother,  an  office 
built  for  him  by  Capt.  Moody,  and  probably  some  dozen 
volumes  of  law-books — a  young  stranger  from  Vermont, 
in  1819,  commenced  his  business  life.  Who,  at  that 
time,  would  have  dared  to  predict  that  in  less  than 
twenty-five  years  he  would  be  governor  of  the  Empire 
State,  and  that  the  anxious  eyes  of  millions  would  be 
turned  to  him  as  the  man  most  deserving  of  the  highest 
station  to  which  a  human  being  can  be  elevated  ?  Such, 
notwithstanding,  is  now  sober  history. 

The  first  civil  office  held  by  Mr.  Wright  was  that  of 
Surrogate  of  the  county  of  St.  Lawrence.  To  this  office 
he  was  appointed  in  the  year  1820.  It  is  worthy  of  re- 
mark, that  this  office  must  have  been  conferred  on  Mr. 
Wright  in  consequence  of  his  merit,  at  the  general  request 
of  the  community  in  which  he  resided,  and  not  from  par- 
ty considerations,  for  Mr.  Wright  was,  according  to  the 
political  nomenclature  of  the  day,  denominated  a  Buck- 
tail,  and  De  Witt  Clinton  was  then  governor,  with  a  coun- 
cil of  appointment  who  were  his  warm  political  friends. 
(See  1  Pol.  Hist.  518.) 

In  1821,  Feb.  28,  Mr.  Wright  was  appointed  a  justice 
of  the  peace  and  commissioner  of  deeds  ;  but  at  this  time 
a  majority  of  the  council  of  appointment  were  bucktails, 


24  LIFE    OF   SILAS    WRIGHT. 

and  Roger  Skinner,  the  friend  and  patron  of  Mr.  Wright, 
was  its  most  influential  and  leading  member.  In  1824, 
Mr.  Wright  offered  his  resignation  of  these  offices,  but  it 
was  not  accepted  until  1825. 

He  was  also  appointed  postmaster  at  Canton,  an  office 
which  he  held  till  he  resigned  it  in  1827. 

In  1821-2-3,  he  was  elected  town  clerk,  and  inspector 
of  common  schools. 

We  will  venture  the  assertion,  that  the  only  office  (ex- 
cept that  of  pathrnaster)  which  he  ever  intimated  he  was 
desirous  to  obtain,  was  that  of  inspector  of  common 
schools. 

There  was  another  branch  of  the  duty  of  a  citizen  of  a 
republic  to  which  Gov.  Wright  devoted  much  of  his  time 
and  attention  until  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties 
called  him  away  from  the  county  of  St.  Lawrence,  which 
was  service  in,  and  the  improvement  of,  the  militia. 

In  the  year  1822,  he  raised  and  organized  an  indepen- 
dent company  of  riflemen,  of  which  he  was  elected  and 
commissioned  captain.  He  commanded  this  company 
until  the  fall  of  1825,  (which  was  while  he  was  a  member 
of  the  senate  of  this  state,)  when  an  independent  regiment 
was  organized,  known  as  the  7th  Rifle  Regiment. 

The  following  memoranda  of  the  offices  held  by  Mr. 
Wright,  and  his  services  in  the  militia,  were  kindly  fur- 
nished us  by  a  young  gentleman  of  Canton,  who  was  a 
native  of  that  town.  We  copy  literally  from  Our  corre- 
spondent : 

"  At  the  first  election  of  '  field  officers'  for  the  new 
regiment,  Mr.  Wright  was  elected  Major.  He  did  mili- 
tary duty  as  major  one  year.  In  the  fall  of  1826,  he  was 
elected  Colonel.  He  commanded  the  regiment  until  the 
fall  of  1827,  when  he  was  elected  and  commissioned 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 


Brigadier-general  of  the  49th  Brigade  and  12th  Division 
of  the  New  York  Militia.  He  commanded  the  brigade 
until  the  year  1829,  when  he  resigned  his  commission.* 
Mr.  Wright  was  an  excellent  disciplinarian,  and  was  uni- 
versally respected  by  all  under  his  command. 

"  During  the  eight  years  which  Mr.  Wright  did  mili- 
tary duty,  '  he  was  never  known  to  make  use  of  a  harsh 
or  unkind  word'  towards  any  officer  or  soldier  under 
his  command. 

"  One  thing  is  worthy  of  remark — that  of  the  old  rifle 
company  raised  and  organized  by  Mr.  Wright,  not  a  sin- 
gle member  was  ever  known  to  vote  against  him  when  he 
was  a  candidate  for  an  elective  office,  although  many  of 
them  belonged  to  the  party  opposed  to  him  in  politics. 

"  In  his  military,  as  well  as  in  all  other  public  stations 
which  he  filled,  he  had  a  sacred  regard  for  the  feelings  of 
those  with  whom  he  was  associated,  and  would  not  wil- 
lingly do  any  act  calculated  to  wound  the  feelings  of  even 
the  most  sensitive. 

"  One  incident  which  the  writer  well  remembers,  occur- 
red at  a  general  review  of  the  7th  Rifle  Regiment,  in 
1828.  By  the  militia  laws  of  New  York  at  that  time,  the 
commissioned,  non-commissioned  officers,  and  musicians 
of  each  regiment  in  the  state,  'drilled'  three  days,  and 
the  fourth  was  the  general  review.  The  7th  Rifle  Regi- 
ment was  a  new  uniformed  regiment,  and  was  quite 
large,  numbering  in  all  sixteen  companies.  The  offi- 
cers of  each  company  had  a  tent  pitched  on  the 
field,  and  the  line  of  the  regiment  was  formed  in  front 


*  He  was  ubout  that  time  appointed  Comptroller,  and  it  became  neces- 
sary for  him  to  reside  constantly  in  Albany. — EDITOR. 


26  LIFE    OF    SILAS  WRIGHT. 

of  the  line  of  tents.  It  was  in  the  month  of  October,  and 
the  weather  quite  cold.  There  was  a  tremendous  dark 
heavy  cloud  hanging  over  the  field.  The  order  was 
given,  '  Prepare  for  the  standing  review  !'  The  regi- 
ment was  immediately  put  in  order,  and  as  the  gen- 
eral and  his  staff  approached  the  right  of  the  regiment, 
and  had  uncovered  their  heads,  the  wind  commenced 
blowing  a  '  hurricane,'  and  the  rain  and  hail  fell  in 
torrents.  At  this  moment  every  company  but  one 
in  the  whole  line  fled  to  their  tents.  But  the  gene- 
ral and  one  of  his  staff,  (the  brigade  inspector,)  moved 
slowly  down  the  line  with  uncovered  heads,  until  they 
arrived  in  front  of  the  only  company  left  in  the 
whole  line, — which,  by-the-by,  was  his  old  Rifle  Com- 
pany :  he  reined  up  his  horse,  while  the  rain  and  hail 
were  pelting  his  naked  head,  and  addressed  them  thus  : — 
'  That's  right,  boys  !  That's  the  kind  of  soldiers  I  like. 
I  knew  I  should  have  one  company  to  review  if  it  rained 
pitchforks,  unless  they  came  tines  downwards.' 

"  The  rain  ceased,  and  the  line  was  again  formed,  and 
the  general  passed  over  the  ground  a  second  time. 

"  After  the  review,  the  regiment  was  formed  in  '  hoi- 
lew  square,'  and  the  general,  in  his  calm,  cool  manner, 
made  a  handsome  address  to  the  regiment.  As  he 
commenced,  all  eyes  were  turned  towards  him,  and 
every  ear  was  open,  expecting  to  hear  something  in 
the  sha}>e  of  a  reprimand  for  leaving  the  ranks  without 
orders.  But  they  were  all  happily  disappointed,  for  not 
a  harsh  word  escaped  his  lips  on  that  occasion.  In  the 
course  of  his  address  he  alluded  to  the  unfortunate  day, 
and  much  regretted  the  damage  done  to  their  uniforms. 
He  remarked  very  good-naturedly  that  he  did  not  think 
they  had  '  gained  much  by  leaving  the  ivuks.  for  they 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  27 

appeared  to  be  about  as  thoroughly  soaked  as  he  was, 
who  had  not  left  the  line  during  the  storm.'  " 

We  add  a  single  remark  :  From  the  facts  above  stated, 
it  is  evident  that  Mr.  Wright  was  fond  of  military  exer- 
cises, and  of  military  distinction.  We  were  personally 
acquainted  with  him  from  the  time  he  was  elected  to  the 
senate  in  1823,  and  while  he  was  comptroller,  and  of  course 
a  resident  of  Albany,  where  we  also  resided,  and  were  in 
habits  of  personal  intercourse  with  him  until  he  retired  to 
Canton  in  the  autumn  of  1846  ;  and  yet  we  never  heard 
or  suspected  that  he  had  ever  held  any  office  in  the  mili- 
tia. We  knew  him  only  as  a  citizen  in  civil  life.  We 
knew  him  as  plain  Mr.  Wright,  and  not  by  the  pompous 
title  of  General  Wright.  We  mention  this  circumstance 
as  evidence  of  the  innate  and  peculiar  modesty  which  in 
all  situations  governed  the  conduct  and  social  intercourse 
of  SILAS  WRIGHT  during  his  whole  life. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 


CHAPTER  II. 

SILAS    WRIGHT    AT    HOME. 

FROM  the  first  of  January,  1824,  to  the  first  of  the  same 
month  in  the  year  1847,  the  greater  part  of  Mr.  Wright's 
time  was  spent  either  at  Albany  or  Washington,  in  the 
discharge  of  the  high  and  responsible  duties  which  de- 
volved upon  him  as  a  member  of  the  New  York  state 
senate,  as  the  comptroller  of  the  state,  an  office  which 
draws  within  its  vortex  nearly  all  the  important  operations 
of  the  government,  as  a  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, as  senator  of  the  United  States,  or  as  govern- 
or of  the  state.  Overwhelmed  with  official  business,  and 
immersed  in  the  wild  and  tempestuous  ocean  of  politics, 
little  can  be  seen  or  known  of  his  domestic  qualities  and 
habits  during  that  long  period.  The  short  time  which 
during  some  of  these  years  he  was  enabled  to  spend  at 
home,  made  him  rather  a  visiter  than  an  inmate  in  his 
own  house.  It  was  only  from  the  autumn  of  1819  to 
that  of  1823,  that  Mr.  Wright  can  be  said  to  have  lived 
at  home.  But  it  is  there  where  you  see  the  man  as  he  is. 
It  is  there  where  impatience,  envy,  irascibility,  and  all  the 
bad  passions  to  which  poor  human  nature  is  subject,  are 
too  often  displayed  without  restraint ;  and  it  is  there  where 
the  kindly  emotions  of  the  heart  are  exhibited,  and  where 
they  exist  unadulterated  with  any  sinister  motive.  It  is 
by  the  domestic  fireside — it  is  in  the  social  intercourse 
with  one's  family  and  neighbors  and  intimate  friends, 


LIFB    OP   SILAS    WRIGHT.  20 

where  there  is  no  inducement  for  affectation  or  disguise, 
that  the  beams  of  "  the  soul's  calm  sunshine"  are  most 
conspicuous  and  most  sensibly  felt.  To  see  Silas  Wright 
as  Silas  Wright,  we  must  look  at  him  in  the  family  of  the1 
old  neighbor  and  friend  of  his  father,  Capt.  Moody,  in  the 
remote  and  quiet  village  of  Canton.  We  therefore  insert 
the  gleanings  we  have  made  from  several  obliging  corre- 
spondents, one  of  whom  Is  the  son  of  Mr,  Moody,  and 
another  was  the  clergyman  of  the  village,  whom  we  have 
before  mentioned  as  the  classmate  of  the  subject  of  these 
memoirs.  >  *.#»•• 

As  respects  Mr.  Wright's  professional  efforts,  a  gentle- 
man who  was  at  one  time  sheriff  of  St.  Lawrence,  and 
afterwards  a  member  of  the  assembly  and  senate  from 
that  county,*  says  :^"  His  habits  were  extremely  plain, 
simple,  and  unambitious.  He  did  not  seem  to  seek  b'usi^ 
ness  for  profit  or  distinction.  He  Was  apparently  uncon- 
scious of  his  own  powers.^  He  had  acquired  but  little 
practice,  and  not  a  very  extensive  acquaintance  in  the 
county  when  he  was  nominated,  in  1828,  to  the  sen- 
ate. ***** 

"  Of  his  early  efforts  at  the  bar  I  can  say  little, 
They  Were  of  a  modest  business  character,  without  ap- 
parently aspiring  to  distinction  ;  and  yet  even  then,  when 
he  spent  much  of  his  time  in  what  seemed  to  be  an  indo- 
lent manner,  he  showed  that  strict  attention  and  punctu- 
ality in  what  he  had  to  do,  which  characterized  him 
through  life.  The  smallest  call,  even  with  the  slightest 


»  Hon.  D.  C.  Judson. 

t  This  we  believe  to  be  the  peculiar  characteristic  of  great  minds. 
What  they  see  is  to  their  meiital  vision  so  obvious,  that  they  think  thd 
most  common  minds  cannot  avoid  perceiving  and  reasoning  as  they  do1 


30  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

claims  upon  him,  was  never  neglected.  His  physical 
powers,  as  well  as  his  mental,  were  always  at  the  service 
of  his  friends  and  neighbors,  and  no  man  could  be  more 
beloved  among  them  than  he  was." 

"During  the  several  years  he  was  a  justice  of  the 
peace,"  says  the  Rev.  H.  S.  Johnson,  "  he  discharged  the 
duties  of  the  office  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all  who 
employed  him.  As  a  justice  and  as  a  lawyer  he  made 
the  most  active  and  successful  efforts  to  suppress  and  do 
away  all  unworthy  and  scurrilous  litigation.  One  speci- 
men of  his  efforts  for  this  object  may  be  given.  He  was 
employed  as  counsel  for  the  defendant  in  a  suit  of  this 
character.  He  exhibited  the  doings  of  his  client  in  the 
transaction  in  a  true  light.  Then  he  took  up  the  charac- 
ter of  the  plaintiff,  and  treated  it  with  the  same  impar- 
tiality. He  said  the  whole  transaction  between  the  par- 
ties was  unworthy  and  base  in  the  extreme.  Then  in  a 
very  summary  manner  he  pointed  out  that  his  client,  of 
the  two  bad  men,  had  been  the  most  injured.  The  de- 
fendant was  successful ;  but  after  the  jury  had  given  their 
verdict,  he  expressed  great  anger  at  Mr.  Wright,  and  said 
to  him,  '  I  did  not  employ  you  to  rake  my  character,  nor 
do  I  thank  you  for  doing  it.'  Mr.  Wright  replied,  '  My 
dear  sir,  your  character  in  this  whole  transaction  has 
been  so  bad,  and  is  seen  and  felt  by  this  court  and  jury  to 
be  so  unworthy,  that  had  I  palliated  it  in  the  least,  you 
would  have  lost  your  cause.  My  abhorrence  of  such 
conduct  is  like  that  of  every  reflecting  man,  and  I  hope 
you  will  profit  by  the  disclosures  of  this  day,  so  as  not 
again  to  be  subjected  to  a  like  embarrassment.' 

"  The  Hon.  Benjamin  Raymond  was  for  a  number  of 
years  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  this 
county.  [St.  Lawrence.]  He  was  one  of  the 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  31 

talented,  discerning,  and  shrewd  of  men.  About  the  first 
time  Mr.  Wright  attended  the  circuit  in  this  county,  Judge 
Raymond  had  something  of  an  intricate  and  difficult  cause 
on  trial.  Unexpectedly  his  counsel  failed  to  attend.  In 
this  emergency  he  employed  Mr.  Wright,  who  conducted 
the  cause  with  scarcely  an  hour's  time  to  prepare  for  it. 
In  relating  to  me  the  affair  afterwards,  Judge  Raymond 
said,  '  I  dislike  the  politics  of  that  young  man,  but  he  has 
a  most  powerful  intellect — a  far-seeing  mind,  and  he  must 
and  will  rise  to  the  first  ranks  of  distinction.'  He  did 
rise,  so  that  in  two  years  he  was  second  to  no  one  of  the 
able  and  experienced  bar  in  the  country. 

"  The  first  particular  in  which  Mr.  Wright  excited  ad- 
miration as  a  lawyer,  was  his  happy  talent  at  examining 
witnesses.  Soon  after  he  commenced  the  practice  of 
law,  it  was  perceived  that  in  that  respect  he  excelled  all 
others.  His  questions  were  perfectly  adapted  to  the  abil- 
ity of  the  person  he  was  examining  ;  nor  could  any  wit- 
ness evade  his  questions.  In  a  short  time  he  would  draw- 
out,  clearly  and  fully,  all  the  witness  knew  about  the 
cause.  At  the  same  time  he  became  equally  noted  for 
the  clear  and  convincing  manner  in  which  he  would  lay 
open  a  difficult  cause  to  a  jury.  Early  it  became  a  com- 
mon jemark,  that  Mr.  Wright  had  more  influence  with 
the  jury  than  any  other  lawyer  who  practised  in  St. 
Lawrence  county."  *  *  *  *  "In  all  the  offices, 
whether  civil  or  military,  which  Mr.  Wright  held,  the 
duties  of  which  in  an  especial  manner  pertained  to  his 
own  county,  he  discharged  those  duties  without  any  ap- 
parent effort  to  please,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned,  and  so  as  to  render  himself  the  object  of  uni- 
versal and  affectionate  regard.  It  has  been  a  common 
remark  of  those  most  intimate  with  him,  that  he  never 


39  LIFE    OP   SILAS    WRIGHT, 

sought  promotion,  and  that  he  generally  accepted  it  with 
reluctance. 

"  While  Mr.  Wright's  manner  of  intercourse  was  of 
the  most  accessible  and  familiar  kind,  he  was  an  unyield- 
ing and  fearless  opposer  of  every  species  of  intrigue,  dis- 
honesty, and  unfairness  of  dealing.  In  all  his  political 
movements  he  was  perfectly  frank,  and  always  stated  his 
object  distinctly,  clearly,  and  truly.  Perhaps  by  this 
means  he  often  gained  his  object,  from  the  fact  that  his 
declarations  were  so  perfectly  unequivocal  that  his  oppo- 
nents did  not  believe  him  to  be  laboring  for  the  object 
which  he  professed  to  be  pursuing.  Although  it  is  well 
known  that  this  same  trait  characterized  his  political 
movements  when  abroad  in  afterlife,  the  above  remarks 
are  made  with  especial  reference  to  his  early  political 
career  in  St.  Lawrence  county. 

"  In  his  more  immediate  associations  in  the  neighbor- 
hood and  town,  he  threw  around  him  no  reserve,  but  was 
perfectly  accessible  and  familiar  with  any  and  every  one, 
whether  political  friend  or  political  opponent.  He  took 
an  active  and  lively  interest  in  all  objects  of  public  con- 
cern in  the  town.  He  was  often  District  Pathmaster, 
and  labored  with  his  own  hands  with  as  much  satisfac- 
tion and  efficiency  as  any  farmer  in  repairing  and  making 
the  road.  Difficult,  hard,  or  even  muddy  work  had  no 
terrors  for  him.  Among  the  farmers  he  was  called  one 
of  the  best  hands  on  the  road. 

"  Mr.  Wright's  feelings  were  unusually  kind  to  all  his 
acquaintance.  Was  any  one  in  trouble,  he  would  sym- 
pathize with  them,  and  advise  them  wisely.  The  remark 
has  often  been  made,  from  which  no  one  xvas  ever  known 
to  dissent,  that  in  all  his  promotion,  Mr.  Wright  never 
forgot  his  early  and  most  humble  friends.  He  had  not 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  33 

been  in  Canton  more  than  a  very  few  years,  before  there 
was  an  almost  universal  resort  to  him  for  advice  in  the 
common  concerns  of  men.  Scarce  any  man,  political 
friend  or  enemy,  would  undertake  any  thing  in  his  busi- 
ness, a  little  out  of  the  common  course,  without  consult- 
ing Mr.  Wright,  and  he  was  ever  ready  to  give  such  ad- 
vice familiarly  and  freely.  This  was  the  case  with  the 
most  dependent  day-laborer,  and  from  him  through  all 
grades  up  to  the  most  affluent  merchant  and  farmer.  It 
has  never  been  heard  from  an  individual  that  Mr.  Wright 
gave  him  bad  advice ;  on  the  other  hand,  almost  every 
one  will  speak  of  the  benefit  he  has  derived  from  the  ad- 
vice given  by  Mr.  Wright. 

"  When  Mr.  Wright  became  an  inhabitant  of  Canton, 
there  was  no  settled  clergyman  in  the  town.  A  small 
number  were  accustomed  to  assemble  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  hold  what  is  called  a  '  deacon-meeting.'  In  these 
meetings  Mr.  Wright  took  an  interest ;  he  attended  them 
constantly.  Soon  he  was  invited  to  read  a  sermon.  This 
he  cheerfully  did,  and  continued  to  read  a  sermon  in  the 
absence  of  the  minister,  whenever  in  town  on  the  Sab- 
bath, as  long  as  he  lived.  Such  as  attended  the  Presby- 
terian congregation  formed  a  strong  attachment  to  Mr. 
Wright  on  this  account.  When  in  town  they  were  al- 
ways sure  to  see  him  at  church  on  the  Sabbath,  and  in 
case  of  the  minister's  absence,  they  expected  to  hear  him 
read  a  sermon. 

"  The  attachment  between  Mr.  Wright  and  the  people 
was  lively,  ardent,  and  reciprocal.  If  any  were  suffering, 
he  would  do  all  he  could  to  relieve  them,  with  either 
money  or  the  labor  of  his  own  hands.  Often  was  he 
accustomed  to  watch  at  the  sick-bed  of  the  languishing  : 
whether  that  bed  was  among  the  conveniences  of  life  or 
3 


34  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

secluded  in  the  wants  of  penury,  it  made  no  difference  to 
him.  The  charitable  and  benevolent  objects  of  the  day 
were  sure  to  receive  a  contribution  from  his  hand ;  by 
such  means  all  classes  became  attached  to  him,  from  the 
oldest  to  the  mere  child.  When  Mr.  Wright  has  been 
expected  after  an  absence,  I  have  often  heard  little  boys 
of  eight  or  ten  years  old  inquire  with  the  deepest  interest, 
When  will  Mr.  Wright  be  in  town  ?  This  was  common 
with  the  children,  as  they  all  expected  his  notice  when 
he  came.  He  overlooked  no  interest,  but  felt  for  all ; 
and  this  feeling  was  not  affected,  but  real,  and  all  be- 
lieved it  to  be  such.  When  he  was  at  Albany,  New 
York,  or  Washington,  all  the  little  errands  that  any  in 
Canton  wished  done  there,  they  would  send  to  him  ;  he 
would  cheerfully  do  them,  and  derive  pleasure  from  the 
service.  Soon  after  Mr.  Wright's  last  return  from  Al- 
bany, I  called  on  him,  ahd  found  him  intensely  engaged  in 
writing ;  he  bid  me  take  a  seat,  and  said  he  would  short- 
ly be  at  leisure.  Immediately  two  fine  children  of  the 
neighbors,  seven  or  eight  years  old,  came  in ;  Mr.  Wright 
addressed  them  in  his  usual  affable  manner,  but  did  not 
stop  his  writing.  These  little  ones  drew  their  chairs  to  his 
desk,  one  on  either  side  of  him,  and  were  soon  amusing 
themselves  by  fingering  his  hair,  and  continued  to  do  so 
without  disturbing  him  at  all,  until  he  had  finished  his 
writing. 

"  In  every  department,  whatever  business  came  into 
his  hands  was  immediately  performed,  and  no  deficiency 
or  flaw  was  ever  found  in  any  thing  which  passed  through 
his  hands.  He  was  one  of  the  most  careful,  thorough, 
and  accurate  of  men.  All  the  political  works  and  peri- 
odicals of  the  day  were  read  by  him  as  soon  as  they  came 
to  hand.  Besides,  he  read  all  the  recent  publications 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  35 

containing  matters  of  general  interest.  Few  men  coulrl 
be  more  familiar  with  the  present  state  of  the  world  than 
Mr.  Wright.  His  knowledge  was  particular  and  accu- 
rate ;  added  to  this,  his  correspondence  was  immense  for 
one  individual.  This  is  intended  with  regard  to  some  of 
his  last  years.  Most  men  would  feel  that  they  had 
enough  to  do  to  read  and  answer  all  his  letters  ;  yet  he 
seemed  to  do  it  without  being  diverted  from  his  ordinary 
business.  For  months  in  succession  he  would  labor  on 
his  farm,  both  early  and  late,  every  day,  and  not  omit  or 
delay  his  reading  or  his  correspondence.  His  intimate 
friends  have  often  expressed  the  utmost  surprise  how  he 
could  accomplish  so  much.  When  in  the  field  on  his 
farm,  he  would  perform  and  work  as  long  as  the  stoutest 
farmers.  There  was  no  fiction  about  his  labor ;  it  was 
real,  thorough  hard  work.  He  did  not,  like  some  would- 
be  gentlemen,  put  on  his  gloves,  go  into  the  field,  and 
merely  wish  the  work  well.  Mr.  Wright  felt  the  utmost 
abhorrence  of  any  thing  like  fiction  in  equipage,  man- 
ners, politics,  or  the  style  and  mode  of  living.  He  was, 
in  a  pre-eminent  sense,  a  man  of  reality.  All  about  his 
house  and  home  was  plain,  simple,  and  neat.  The  re- 
mark has  often  been  made  by  his  neighbors,  that  all  the 
carriage  he  ever  owned  was  an  ox- wagon  and  a  wheel- 
barrow ;  his  wheelbarrow  was  generally  rolled  by  him- 
self. When  he  came  home  last  spring  from  Albany,  Mrs. 
Wright  remarked  to  a  neighbor  that  she  did  not  know 
what  Mr.  Wright  would  do,  for  his  wheelbarrow  was 
broken.  It  seems,  however,  that  he  knew  what  to  do, 
for  in  a  short  time  he  either  repaired  it,  or  obtained  a  new 
one,  and  was  actively  engaged  with  it  in  the  garden. 

"  A  few  days  before  he  left  home  for  Washington  the 
last  time  as  senator,  while  finishing  a  house  that  he  was 


36  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

building  in  the  village,  a  gentleman  from  a  distance  can;a 
to  see  Senator  Wright.  He  went  into  the  house,  and 
inquired  of  the  workmen  for  Mr.  Wright.  One  of  them 
replied,  '  There  is  Mr.  Wright  in  the  yard,  working  at  the 
mortar-bed.'  'But/  said  the  gentleman,  'I  mean  the 
Hon.  Silas  Wright.' — 'Well,  that  is  him.'  —  'I  mean 
Senator  Wright.' — 'Well,  that  is  Senator  Wright.' — 
On  repairing  to  the  mortar-bed,  this  gentleman  quickly 
discovered  that  the  workman  had  not  imposed  upon 
him. 

"  Mr.  Wright's  manners  were  such  as  rendered  him 
not  only  acceptable  but  agreeable  to  all  classes.  Stran- 
gers of  high  refinement  have  sometimes  expected  to  find 
him  a  coarse  plebeian,  but  after  being  with  him  a  short 
time,  they  have  frequently  been  heard  to  declare  that  he 
was  a  most  agreeable  and  accomplished  gentleman.  Any 
persons  in  his  company,  whether  high  or  low,  felt  per- 
fectly at  ease ;  they  thought  little  about  being  in  the 
presence  of  greatness,  but  felt  that  they  were  with  one 
whose  company  was  pleasing.  His  discerning  political 
opponents  have  often  remarked,  that  Mr.  Wright  knew 
better  than  any  other  man,  how  always  to  talk  on  the 
subject  which  would  be  the  most  deeply  interesting  to 
any  one  and  every  one  who  might  meet  him." 

"At  the  time  he  [Mr.  Wright]  commenced  house- 
keeping," says  Mr.  Horace  Moody,  "  he  moved  his  furni- 
ture upon  a  wheelbarrow  with  his  own  hands,  and  al- 
though he  almost  always  owned  a  lumber  or  ox-wagon, 
the  wheelbarrow  was  the  only  pleasure  carriage  he  ever 
possessed ;  and  his  first  business,  after  his  annual  return 
from  Washington,  while  he  was  senator,  was  to  take  his 
wheelbarrow,  and  go  to  the  village  mill,  and  purchase  hi.-> 
flour  and  meal.  His  pork  was  on  hand,  as  that  was  fat- 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  37 

tened  by  himself,  and  packed  up  in  the  cellar  previous  to 
his  leaving  for  Washington  in  the  fall." 

In  addition  to  what  we  have  quoted  from  Mr.  John- 
son, of  the  evidence  afforded  by  Mr.  Wright  of  his  dis- 
position to  support  the  religious  institutions  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Canton,  we  can  state,  on  the  authority  of  Mr. 
Moody,  that  Mr.  W.  and  another  gentleman  whose  name 
Mr.  Moody  has  (accidentally)  neglected  to  mention,  hav- 
ing purchased  a  lot  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Canton,  gratuitously  conveyed  four  acres  of  it  to 
the  Presbyterian  society,  upon  one  acre  of  which  they 
directed  a  church  and  parsonage-house  to  be  erected,  and 
the  remaining  three  acres  to  remain  a  public  square. 

Mr.  Moody  has  had  the  kindness  to  furnish  us  with 
many  other  anecdotes  relating  to  the  habits  of  Mr.  Wright, 
and  his  avocations  and  employment  while  at  home, — all 
tending  to  prove  the  benevolence  of  his  nature,  and  the 
deep  interest  he  took  in  the  prosperity  of  the  village,  and 
the  welfare  of  its  inhabitants, — a  few  of  which  we  cannot 
deny  ourselves  the  pleasure  of  presenting  to  the  reader. 

"  After,"  says  Mr.  Moody,  "  the  legislature  had  passed 
a  law  directing  the  county  buildings  to  be  located  in  a 
more  central  part  of  the  county,  and  the  commissioners 
had  located  them  at  Canton,  the  inhabitants  of  other  sec- 
tions of  the  county  boasted  that  Canton  had  no  materials 
for  the  buildings,  and  that  before  they  could  procure  them 
the  legislature  would  assemble  and  change  the  law  direct- 
ing a  central  location.  Having  ascertained  how  the 
matter  stood  in  regard  to  materials,  &c.,  Mr.  Wright 
called  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  and 
after  having  stated  the  case,  he  made  an  urgent  appeal 
to  them  to  make  an  effort  to  help  the  matter  forward,  and 
closed  his  remarks  by  saying,  '  I  will  go  to  the  Stone 


35 


38  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

Ledge  to-morrow  morning  with  a  spade,  shovel,  crowbar, 
and  pickaxe,  and -will  work  there  until  there  is  not  a  doubt 
left  as  to  the  ability  of  Canton  to  furnish  the  materials 
necessary  for  these  buildings :  who  will  go  with  me  ?'  The 
meeting  unanimously  responded,  '  We  will  all  go.'  The 
next  morning  he  led  the  way  to  the  ledge,  followed  by 
his  neighbors,  and  was  the  first  man  to  break  ground  in 
clearing  the  earth  away  from  the  quarry.  On  the  first  day 
there  was  quarried  and  delivered  upon  the  site  selected 
for  the  buildings,  six  miles  distant  from  the  ledge,  in  the 
village  of  Canton,  twenty  wagon  loads  of  stone,  on  the 
second  day  eighty  loads,  and  on  the  third  day  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  loads.  Other  materials  were  procured 
with  like  dispatch,  and  very  soon  those  who  had  doubted 
the  ability  of  the  inhabitants  of  Canton  to  furnish  them, 
admitted  that  they  had  nothing  to  hope  from  that  quarter. 

"  Mr.  Wright  labored  in  that  quarry,  and  assisted  in 
loading  the  teams  for  twenty-one  successive  days ;  and 
when  the  building  commissioner  called  upon  him  for  an 
account  of  his  work,  he  declined  receiving  any  pay  for 
his  services. 

"  In  his  law  business  he  never  charged  or  would  re- 
ceive pay  for  advice,  and  has  discouraged  hundreds  of 
men  who  wanted  to  commence  suits  against  their  neigh- 
bors for  some  petty  trespass,  by  advising  them  to  settle 
the  matter  in  dispute,  and  not  disturb  the  neighborhood 
with  a  trifling  quarrel ;  and  while  he  was  a  magistrate 
his  court  was  emphatically  a  court  of '  conciliation! 

"  At  the  time  of  leaving  for  Washington,  after  his  first 
election  to  Congress,  he  made  a  thorough  examination  of 
all  his  notes  and  accounts,  and  found  about  8600  in  small 
amounts  against  the  different  individuals  for  whom  he 
had  done  business.  He  said  to  a  friend  who  was  present 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  39 

at  the  time,  '  Here  are  notes  and  accounts  against  differ- 
ent individuals  varying  from  $1  to  $5,  to  the  amount  of 
$600.  Now,  these  men  have  done  more  for  me  than  I 
have  for  them,  and  they  must  be  relieved  from  these  little 
debts,'  and  without  waiting  for  his  friend  to  make  any 
suggestion  as  to  what  was  the  best  mode  of  relief  for 
them,  he  opened  the  stove  door  and  reduced  the  package 
to  ashes. 

"  He  was  very  kind  and  attentive  to  the  sick,  frequently 
walking  miles  from  the  village  to  watch  by  their  bed- 
sides; and  there  is  scarcely  an  old  resident  now  living  in 
this  town,  but  will  relate,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  instances 
of  his  kindness  to  them  in  their  sick  hours." 

We  shall  give  one  other  anecdote  of  Mr.  Wright,  not 
because  there  is  any  thing  very  remarkable  in  the  story, 
but  because  we  think  the  course  pursued  by  him  towards 
his  associates  forcibly  illustrates  the  principles  by  which 
he  was  afterwards  governed  in  his  treatment  of  his  polit- 
ical friends,  who  were  laboring  with  him  and  in  the  same 
cause. 

Mr.  Wright's  favorite  amusements  were  hunting  and 
fishing,  and  he  rarely  returned  from  those  expeditions, 
which  sometimes  lasted  several  days,  without  a  goodly 
number  of  trophies.  He  was  capable  of  enduring  much 
hardship,  deprivation,  and  fatigue  while  in  the  woods. 
Upon  one  occasion,  while  making  a  trip  to  the  "  South 
woods,"  as  they  are  called, — an  extensive  wilderness  in 
the  south  part  of  the  county  of  St.  Lawrence,  he,  in 
company  with  several  other  hunters,  was  out  about  ten 
days ;  and  as  each  one  was  obliged  to  carry  a  large  pack, 
he  would  make  an  examination  every  morning  of  each 
man's  pack,  and  arrange  them  so  that  his  own  would  be 
the  largest  and  the  heaviest.  Many  persons  now  living 


40  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

can  testify  that  in  his  subsequent  political  and  legislative 
labors,  in  the  division  of  that  labor  between  him  and  his 
associates,  he  always  took  the  most  onerous  burden  on 
himself.  His  pack  was  always  largest  and  heaviest. 

We  are  aware  that  to  some  readers  many  of  the  anec- 
dotes we  have  related  may  appear  trifling  and  frivolous ; 
but  in  our  judgment  the  true  character  of  an  individual 
is  best  developed  by  his  conduct  in  the  ordinary  concerns 
of  life.  The  actions  then  performed,  and  the  words  spo- 
ken, are  unpremeditated — the  result  of  the  natural  im- 
pulses and  emotions  of  the  heart. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  41 


CHAPTER  III. 

i 

Commencement  of  Mr.  Wright's  Political  Life— His  Nomination  and 
Election  to  the  Senate  of  New  York  from  the  Fourth  Senatorial  Dis- 
trict— His  action  on  the  Bill  providing  for  the  Election  of  Presidential 
Electors  by  the  People — His  attachment  to  the  Democratic  Party — 
H.  Seymour's  Opinion  of  Mr.  Wright— Governor  Yates  and  Colonel 
Young — Mr.  Wright  supports  the  renoiniuation  of  Mr.  Yates  for  Gov- 
ernor— De  Witt  Clinton's  Removal  from  the  Office  of  Canal  Commis- 
sioner— Attempt  to  elect  a  Senator  of  the  United  States — Electoral 
Law  of  1825— Its  Repeal  in  1828— Reflections  thereon— Numerous 
Applications  for  Bank  Charters  in  the  year  1826 — Mr.  Wright's  Action 
upon  those  Applications. 

HAVING  in  the  preceding  chapter  endeavored  to  ac- 
quaint the  reader  with  the  domestic  habits  of  Governor 
Wright,  and  in  doing  so  alluded  to  several  incidents 
which  occurred  after  he  entered  into  public  life,  and  in 
advance  of  our  narrative  ;  we  now  resume  it  in  the  au- 
tumn of  the  year  1823,  when  he  was  nominated  and 
elected  to  the  senate  of  this  state,  and  when  his  political 
life  may  be  said  to  have  commenced. 

He  had  not  at  that  time,  as  we  are  informed  by  an  in- 
telligent correspondent  from  St.  Lawrence  county,  par- 
ticipated much  in  the  party  contests  of  the  county.  He 
was  therefore  little  known,  even  in  his  own  county,  as  a 
politician.  It  was,  however,  generally  understood  that  he 
was  moderately  opposed  to  Mr.  Clinton,  and  therefore  he 
was  considered  as  belonging  to  the  Bucktail  party. 

At  the  general  .election  in  April,  1821,  we  think  a  ma- 
jority of  the  people  of  the  county  of  St.  Lawrence  were 


42  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

Clintonian.  At  any  rate,  David  C.  Judson  of  that  coun- 
ty, who  was  a  decided  Clintonian,  was  elected  a  sena- 
tor from  the  eastern  district.  After  the  adoption  by 
the  people,  in  the  winter  of  1822,  of  the  constitution  of 
1821,  a  large  majority  of  Mr.  Clinton's  republican  friends 
in  the  legislature,  of  whom  Mr.  Judson  was  one,  enter- 
tained the  opinion  that  it  was  for  the  public  good,  as  well 
as  in  accordance  with  their  own  interest,  to  abandon  the 
contest  with  the  Bucktails,  and  to  make  an  effort  to  re- 
unite the  old  republican  party.  But  to  effect  this  object, 
it  was  necessary  that  Mr.  Clinton  should  withdraw  him- 
self from  the  contest ;  and  accordingly  during  the  session 
of  1822,  a  meeting  was  held  in  Albany,  consisting  of  the 
Clintonian  members  of  the  legislature,  and  some  of  the 
most  respectable  citizens  of  Albany,  which  appointed  a 
committee  to  call  upon  Mr.  Clinton  to  inquire  of  him 
whether  he  would  consent  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-elec- 
tion. As  was  anticipated,  he  declined.* 

In  1823,  the  candidates  for  the  senate  were  selected  in 
the  following  manner  : — The  members  from  the  district 
from  which  the  senator  was  to  be  chosen  met  in  caucus, 
and  designated  the  county  which  should  have  the  right 
of  nominating  a  senator.  After  which  a  convention  was 
held,  in  the  county  thus  designated,  and  the  senatorial 
candidate  was  then  nominated. 

At  the  convention  held  in  the  fall  of  1823,  in  the  coun- 
ty of  St.  Lawrence,  the  delegates  were  composed  of  re- 
publican Clintonians  as  well  as  Bucktails  ;  and  as  an 
evidence  of  urikm  between  these  two  classes  of  men, 
Judge  Bailey,  a  leading  Bucktail,  was  chosen  for  one  of 
the  secretaries,  and  Mr.  Judson  for  the  other.  A  consid- 

«  See  1  Political  History,  pp.  91-3. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  43 

erable  part  of  the  convention,  consisting,  as  we  suppose, 
mostly  of  the  Clintonian  portion  of  it,  were  for  nomina- 
ting Mr.  Judson ;  but  he  declined,  probably  partly  with 
a  view  of  effectually  putting  an  end  to  all  jealousy  be- 
tween the  two  sections  of  the  democratic  party,  and 
proposed  Mr.  Wright,  who,  as  we  have  before  observed, 
was  known  as  a  Bucktail,  but  whose  candor  and  liberali- 
ty rendered  him  more  acceptable  to  the  Clintonians  than 
any  other  gentleman  belonging  to  the  Bucktail  party. 
The  members  of  the  convention  belonging  to  the  Buck- 
tail  party  readily  concurred  in  the  proposal  to  select  Mr. 
Wright  as  the  senatorial  candidate  of  the  county,  and  he 
was  accordingly  unanimously  nominated.  All  this  was 
done  without  any  interference  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Wright. 

Mr.  Monroe  was  then  President  of  the  United  States, 
but  his  second  term  was  to  expire  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1825,  and  of  course  a  successor  was  to  be  chosen  in  1824. 
Already  five  candidates  had  been  announced  for  the  suc- 
cession, Wm.  H.  Crawford,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Andrew 
Jackson,  Henry  Clay,  and  John  C.  Calhoun,  who  withdrew 
his  name  during  the  canvass,  and  each  had  his  partisans  and 
supporters  in  the  state  of  New  York,  as  well  as  in  other 
states  of  the  Union.  A  majority  of  the  strong  and  influ- 
ential members  of  the  democratic  party  in  this  state,  at 
the  head  of  whom  stood  Martin  Van  Buren  and  General 
Root,  (then  lieutenant-governor,)  were  for  Mr.  Crawford, 
and  claimed  him  as  the  democratic  candidate  in  the  na- 
tion. Mr.  Wright,  as  we  have  reason  to  believe,*  when 


*  Judge  Skinner,  after  Mr.  Wright  was  elected,  told  the  author  that 
Mr.  Wright  was  inclined  to  support  Mr.  Adams.  His  words  were — "  He 
wat  rather  in  favor  of  Mr.  Adams." 


44  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

these  candidates  were  first  announced,  in  common  with 
his  democratic  friends  in  Vermont,  felt  a  preference  for 
Mr.  Adams. 

The  reader  is  reminded  that  from  the  time  of  the 
adoption  of  the  federal  constitution  in  1789,  down  to  and 
after  the  period  about  which  we  are  writing,  by  a  law  of 
this  state,  the  electors  of  president  and  vice-president 
were  chosen  by  the  legislature  in  the  same  manner  as 
senators  of  the  United  States  are  now  chosen — the 
choice  of  those  electors  would,  therefore,  according  to  the 
then  existing  law,  devolve  on  the  legislature,  to  be  chosen 
at  the  November  election  in  1823. 

It  was  believed  that  Mr.  Crawford,  from  the  standing, 
influence,  and  energy  of  his  supporters,  would  be  most 
likely  to  obtain  the  electors  of  the  state  of  New  York,  if 
they  should  be  chosen  by  the  legislature  ;  and  hence  the 
friends  of  the  other  candidates  naturally  concluded,  that 
unless  the  law  could  be  changed  so  that  the  people  should 
elect  the  electors,  Mr.  C.  would  receive  the  vote  of  this 
state. 

Measures  were  therefore  taken  in  most  of  the  counties 
and  districts,  to  ascertain  the  opinions  of  the  candidates 
in  relation  to  a  change  of  the  mode  of  choosing  electors, 
in  such  manner  as,  in  the  language  of  the  day,  would  "  re- 
store to  the  people"  the  power  of  choosing  them. 

The  proceedings  of  the  several  parties  in  respect  to 
this  question,  and  the  way  in  which  it  originated  pre- 
vious to  the  election,  are  related  in  the  second  volume 
of  this  work,  (pages  130-132,)  and  therefore  need  not  be 
repeated  here. 

It  is  sufficient  to  remark,  that  Mr.  Wright,  whenever 
and  wherever  this  question  was  agitated,  frankly  declared 
his  opinion  in  favor  of  the  election  of  electors  by  the  peo- 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  45 

pie  by  general  ticket.  In  the  volume  just  referred  to,  at 
page  153,  we  intimate,  although  we  do  not  expressly 
affirm,  that  Mr.  Wright  pledged  himself  previous  to  his 
election,  that  "  he  would,  if  elected,  support  a  bill  giving 
to  the  people  the  right  to  choose  presidential  electors." 
In  this  we  were  mistaken.  It  is  true  that  such  was  the 
current  report  in  Albany,  where  the  author  then  resided, 
both  before  and  after  the  election,  and  it  was  not,  to  his 
recollection  or  knowledge,  then  contradicted,  which  un- 
doubtedly produced  the  impression  on  his  mind  under 
which  he  wrote.  We  have  now  before  us  indubitable 
evidence  that  no  pledge  was  given  or  required  indepen- 
dent of  Mr.  Wright's  frank  and  unreserved  declarations 
to  those  with  whom  he  happened  to  converse  on  that 
subject.  Besides  private  letters  now  in  our  possession 
from  gentlemen  of  unquestionable  veracity  in  St.  Law- 
rence county,  we  have  seen  extracts  from  the  St.  Law- 
rence Republican,  then  a  neutral  paper,  and  a  slip  from 
the  Plattsburg  Republican,  dated  October  23,  1823,  from 
which  it  is  evident  that  no  pledge  was  ever  given  or  de- 
manded of  Mr.  Wright. 

The  candidate  supported  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Wright 
was  Allen  R.  Moore,  we  believe  of  Washington  county.* 
The  election  was  warmly  contested.  In  some  counties 
Mr.  Moore's  majority  was  large,  but  the  county  of  St. 
Lawrence  saved  Mr.  Wright.  The  result  of  the  canvass 
in  that  county  was  as  follows  : 

Silas  Wright,  Jr.,  1,419  ;  Allen  R.  Moore,  20.     In  the 


*  It  has  been  erroneously  stated,  that  "  General  Mooert  of  Jeffereou 
county,"  was  the  opposing  candidate.  The  writer  probably  intended  Gen- 
eral Mooers  of  Plattsburg,  as  Jefferson  county  was  not  then  iu  the  Fourth 
District. 


46  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

town  of  Canton  200  votes  were  given,  of  which  Mr. 
Wright  received  199  !  and  one  vote  was  cast  undoubted- 
ly by  Mr.  Wright  himself,  for  Jason  Fenton. 

How  decisively  does  this  vote  prove  the  personal 
popularity  of  Mr.  Wright  in  his  own  county !  Nothing 
but  the  most  spotless  purity  of  character  could  have  com- 
manded such  a  vote.  The  vote  in  Canton  also  proves 
the  extraordinary  fact — a  fact  the  more  extraordinary  be- 
cause he  was  a  practising  lawyer — that  he  had  not  a  sin- 
gle personal  enemy  among  all  the  voters  of  that  town ! 

The  legislature  commenced  the  memorable  session  of 
1824,  on  the  first  day  of  January  of  that  year.  The  pas- 
sage of  an  electoral  law,  as  it  was  called,  was  the  great 
measure  which  agitated  the  public  mind,  and  forthwith 
engrossed  the  attention  of  the  legislature.  Immediately 
after  the  two  houses  were  organized,  and  before  a  mes- 
sage had  been  sent  to  the  governor  informing  him  of  that 
fact,  Mr.  Henry  Whealon,  "  a  people's  man,"  as  the  par- 
ty in  favor  of  an  electc  J  law  was  called,  from  the  city 
of  New  York,  and  lately  American  Minister  to  Sweden 
and  Prussia,  gave  notice  that  he  would  on  some  future 
day  bring  in  a  bill  authorizing  the  people  to  choose  the 
electors  for  president  and  vice-president.  This  called  up 
Mr.  Flagg,  then  a  member  from  Clinton  county,  who  was 
a  supporter  of  Mr.  Crawford,  and  who  offered  a  resolu- 
tion, that  the  subject  of  changing  the  mode  of  choosing 
the  electors  be  referred  to  a  committee  of  nine  members. 
A  long  and  exciting  debate  ensued.  But  as  we  have 
heretofore  given,  as  we  believe,  a  pretty  full  history  of 
the  proceedings  in  the  assembly  in  relation  to  this  ques- 
tion,* we  shall  here  merely  state  that  after  many  days, 


Seo  2  Political  History,  pp.  140—148. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  47 

and  long  and  sometimes  embittered  discussion,  the  assem- 
bly finally  passed  a  bill  providing  for  a  choice  of  electors 
by  the  people,  if  any  set  of  candidates  obtained  a  majori- 
ty of  all  the  votes  cast ;  but  in  case  no  candidate  had 
such  majority,  then  no  election  was  effected ;  and  no  pro- 
vision  was  made  for  a  second  election  in  any  form.  An 
effort  was  made  to  amend  the  bill,  so  that  the  persons 
having  a  plurality  of  votes  should  be  declared  duly  elect- 
ed, but  the  amendment  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  sixty- 
four  to  fifty-two. 

When  the  bill  came  into  the  senate,  it  was  referred  to 
a  select  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Charles  E.  Dudley  was 
chairman.  The  committee,  after  several  days,  made  a 
long  and  able  report,  concluding  with  a  resolution,  that 
it  was  inexpedient  to  legislate  at  all  on  the  subject  during 
that  session. 

When  this  report  was  under  consideration  in  the  sen- 
ate, Mr.  JOHN  CRAMER  moved  to  strike  out  the  conclu- 
ding part  of  it,  and  insert  the  following  resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  pass  a  law  at  the 
present  session  of  the  legislature,  giving  to  the  people  of 
this  state  the  choice  of  electors  of  president  and  vice- 
president  by  general  ticket." 

In  support  of  this  resolution  Mr.  Cramer  made  an  able 
and  eloquent  speech,  which  we  had  the  pleasure  of  hear- 
ing. It  is  to  be  regretted  that  he  did  not  write  out  his 
speech,  and  give  it  to  the  public.  It  would  have  been  a 
monument  honorable  to  his  talents  as  a  legislator,  and  to 
his  patriotism  as  a  citizen.  It  was  proposed  to  amend 
the  resolution  by  adding  the  words  "  and  by  a  plurality 
of  votes."  which  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  SEVENTEEN  to 
fourteen.  Mr.  Wright  voted  against  this  amendment. 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  Mr.  Cramer's  original 


48  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

resolution,  and  it  was  adopted,  sixteen  to  fifteen,  Mr. 
Wright  voting  for  the  resolution. 

Mr.  Wright  then  proposed  the  following  amendment  to 
the  report  of  the  select  committee  : 

"  Strike  out  all  after  the  word  '  assembly,'  in  the  sec- 
ond line  of  the  last  clause  of  the  printed  report,  and  insert 
the  following : — But  they  recommend  the  passage  of  a 
law,  providing  for  a  choice  by  the  people,  by  general  tick- 
et, of  a  number  of  electors  of  president  and  vice-president 
of  the  United  States,  equal  to  the  number  of  representa- 
tives in  the  congress  of  the  United  States,  to  which  this 
state  shall  be  entitled  at  the  time  any  election  of  electors 
shall  be  held,  locating  the  electors  so  to  be  chosen  in  the 
several  congressional  districts,  in  such  manner  that  each 
congressional  district  shall  have  residing  within  it  a  num- 
ber of  the  said  electors  equal  to  the  number  of  members 
of  congress  to  which  such  district  shall  be  entitled  at  the 
time  of  the  election  ;  requiring  a  majority  of  all  the  votes 
given  in  the  state,  for  such  electors,  to  constitute  a 
choice ;  and  directing  a  meeting  of  the  legislature,  at 
such  time  as  shall  be  requisite,  in  any  year  when  electors 
of  president  and  vice-president  are  to  be  chosen,  to  ap- 
point two  electors,  in  the  manner  now  prescribed  by  law, 
corresponding  to  the  two  senators  from  this  state  in  the 
congress  of  the  United  States,  and  to  fill  any  vacancies 
that  may  exist  in  any  of  the  congressional  districts,  from 
a  failure  to  elect  by  a  majority  of  votes,  as  aforesaid ;  and 
further  recommend  a  repeal  of  the  present  existing  law, 
providing  for  the  appointment  of  the  said  electors,  so  far 
as  the  same  may  be  inconsistent  with  a  law  containing  the 
aforesaid  provisions." 

It  will  be  perceived  that  the  project  of  Mr.  Wright  was 
substantially  the  same  as  that  embraced  in  the  bill  from 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  49 

the  assembly,  with  the  addition  of  providing  for  an  elec- 
tion of  electors  by  the  legislature  in  case  no  election 
should  be  made  by  the  people.  So  far  it  was  an  improve- 
ment of  the  assembly's  bill.  Mr.  Wright  supported  his 
amendment  by  an  ingenious  speech.  But  what  ingenui- 
ty could  make  that  appear  even  plausible,  which  on  its 
face  was  absurd  ?  He  had  voted  for  Mr.  Cramer's  reso- 
lution, that  the  choice  of  presidential  electors  ought,  at 
that  session  of  the  legislature,  to  be  given  to  the  people. 
Would  Mr.  Wright's  plan  have  given  the  choice  of  the 
electors  to  the  people  ?  With  three  or  four  tickets  be- 
fore the  people,  as  it  was  known  there  would  be,  it  was 
certain  it  would  not.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Clay  and  Mr. 
Adams,  as  afterwards  appeared,  would  neither  of  them 
yield  to  the  other.  The  adoption  of  the  majority  princi- 
ple, therefore,  would  necessarily  and  inevitably  carry  back 
the  election  to  the  legislature,  which  was  tantamount  to 
passing  no  law  at  all.  Entertaining  these  views  of  the 
subject,  and  with  these  impressions  in  our  former  work, 
we  strongly  intimated  our  opinion  that  Mr.  Wright's  con- 
duct in  this  affair  was  disingenuous.  Although  when  Mr. 
Wright  first  made  his  appearance  in  the  senate,  or  rather 
soon  after,  we,  in  common  with  all  other  observers,  were 
convinced  that  he  was  a  man  of  a  high  order  of  intel- 
lect, and  of  an  amiable  temper  and  disposition,  we  con- 
fess we  did  suspect  that  he  was  a  man  of  great  art  and 
consummate  address,  that  his  political  schemes  were  pro- 
found, and  that  he  sometimes  acted  from  motives  which 
he.  did  not  publicly  avow. 

These  impressions  were  strengthened  when  we  reflect- 
ed on  his  course  in  the  choice  of  a  senator  of  the  United 
States,  in  relation  to  Judge  Spencer,  in  1825,  and  when 
we  compared  some  of  his  speeches  and  votes  on  the  tariff, 
4 


50  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

after  he  became  a  member  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States.  We  have  on  various  occasions,  besides  the  one 
referred  to,  expressed  the  same  impressions,  verbally  and 
probably  in  our  written  correspondence.  It  now  affords 
us  sincere  pleasure  to  say,  that  we  are  convinced  we  had 
formed  an  erroneous  opinion  of  him,  and  that  instead  of 
being  addicted  to  plot  and  contrivance,  he  was  frank  and 
sincere ;  and  although  we  earnestly  wish  that  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  electoral  law,  and  in  the  attempt  to  choose,  or 
rather  the  effort  to  avoid  choosing  a  senator  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  his  conduct  had  been  different,  we  are  entirely 
satisfied  his  motives  were  pure  and  honorable.  Our 
reasons  for  arriving  at  this  conclusion  are  these : — Mr. 
Wright  honestly  and  sincerely  believed,  whether  erro- 
neously or  rightly  is  not  now  a  subject  of  inquiry,  that 
the  ascendency  of  the  democratic  party  in  this  state  and 
nation  would  best  secure  the  liberties  and  promote  the 
prosperity  of  the  people.  Hence  he  regarded  as  a  dere- 
liction of  duty  any  consent  to  support  men  or  measures, 
the  consequence  of  which  he  had  reason  to  apprehend 
would  produce  the  overthrow,  or  even  cause  a  diminu- 
tion of  the  strength  of  that  party. 

Mr.  Wright  also  entertained  the  opinion  that  any  state 
of  things  which  should  place  Mr.  Clinton  in  such  a  con- 
dition as  would  give  him  a  controlling  influence  in  the 
government  of  the  state  or  nation,  would  eventuate  in 
the  prostration  of  the  democratic  party  in  either  govern- 
ment. We  beg  our  readers  to  bear  in  mind  that  we  by 
no  means  vouch  for  the  correctness  of  this  opinion ;  all 
we  mean  to  say  is,  that  Mr.  Wright  and  many  other  in- 
telligent men  honestly  believed  it  to  be  correct.  Again, 
it  was  believed  by  Mr.  Wright  and  his  political  friends, 
and  by  many  of  the  supporters  of  Messrs.  Adams  and 


LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT.  51 

Clay,  that  as  soon  as  a  law  should  be  passed  giving  the 
election  of  presidential  electors  by  general  ticket  to  the 
people,  by  a  plurality  of  votes,  Mr.  Clinton  would  in- 
stantly be  brought  forward  as  a  candidate,  and  they 
thought,  and  we  believe  correctly  thought,  that  in  the 
distracted  state  in  which  the  Bucktail  party  then  was,  a 
plurality  of  votes  would  in  that  event  be  given  for  Clin- 
tonian  electors.  These  conjectures  may  have  been  well 
founded,  as  it  is  possible  might  have  been  proved  by 
events,  but  in  justice  to  many  of  the  most  efficient  friends 
of  Gov.  Clinton,  we  feel  bound  to  state  that  no  such  views 
were  entertained  by  them  to  our  knowledge  or  belief;  not 
because  they  did  not  entertain  full  confidence  in  the  tal- 
ents and  patriotism  of  Mr.  Clinton,  but  because  they  be- 
lieved even  if  the  vote  of  this  state  could  be  obtained, 
the  attempt  to  elect  him  president  would  be  a  vain  and 
hopeless  effort.  This,  however,  made  -no  difference  with 
Mr.  Wright  and  his  friends  ;  they  believed,  and  the  event 
might  have  justified  their  belief,  that  if  the  friends  of  Mr. 
Clinton  discovered  that  there  was  a  reasonable  probabil- 
ity of  giving  him  the  vote  of  this  state,  they  would  make 
the  effort ;  and  if  that  effort  should  be  successful,  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  at  any  rate,  knew  that  the  consequence  would  be' 
that  Mr.  Crawford  would  be  prevented  from  being  a  can- 
didate in  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives,  on 
which  by  this  time  it  was  known  the  election  of  president 
would  devolve.  Under  these  circumstances,  Mr.  Wright, 
entertaining  the  views  and  principles  which  we  have  as- 
cribed to  him,  could  not  consistently  vote  for  a  bill  which 
would  give  the  election  of  electors  to  the  people  by  a  plu- 
rality of  votes ;  and  yet  at  this  time,  as  well  as  formerly, 
when  among  his  neighbors  and  friends  at  Canton,  when 
he  was  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  senator,  he  was  de- 


52  LIFE    OF    SILAti    WEIGHT. 

sirous  to  evince  his  preference  of  a  choice  of  electors  by 
the  people,  and  the  amendments  he  offered  he  considered 
in  accordance  with  such  desire.  Although  the  scheme  by 
which  he  proposed  to  carry  into  effect  his  wishes  seemed  to 
us  at  the  time,  and  now  seems,  quite  impracticable,  we  will 
not  and  cannot  believe  his  amendment  was  offered  in  bad 
faith.  Most  of  these  views  we  confess  have  occurred  to 
us  since  the  publication  of  our  Political  History  in  1842  ; 
but  we  have  since  been  favored  by  Judge*  Fine,  a  distin- 
guished member  of  the  senate  from  St.  Lawrence,  who 
was  an  intimate  and  confidential  friend  of  Gov.  Wright, 
with  the  perusal  of  several  letters  written  by  him  to 
Judge  Fine,  about  the  time  of  the  Baltimore  Convention 
in  1844,  while  he  was  governor  of  this  state,  and  after 
his  defeat  in  the  year  1846,  in  the  most  sacred  confidence. 
These  letters  afford  internal  evidence  that  the  sentiments 
they  contain  were  directly  from  the  heart,  and  evince  such 
an  entire  devotedness  to  the  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged, 
so  total  an  absence  of  all  selfish  considerations,  and  such 
perfect  disinterestedness,  and  at  the  same  time  so  much 
frankness,  candor,  and  liberality,  even  towards  political 
opponents,  that  we  cannot  for  one  moment  believe  that, 
on  the  occasion  to  which  we  have  alluded,  he  was  influ- 
enced by  any  other  motive  than  a  desire  to  sustain  and 
promote  the  great  and  paramount  interests  of  the  state 
and  nation.  His  error  as  a  public  man,  if  it  be  an  error, 
in  our  judgment,  arose  from  his  uniform  devotion  to  the 
great  interests  of  the  party  to  which  he  belonged,  on  whose 
ascendency,  we  have  before  stated,  he  sincerely  believed 
depended  the  prosperity  of  his  country.  In  relation  to 
him,  we  believe  what  was  said  to  us  by  one  who  knew 
him  well,  and  who  knows  men  well,-— a  gentleman  who  at 
this  moment  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  leaders  of  the 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  53 

party  called  the  Hunker  party  in  this  state,  and  who  has 
for  that  reason  been  unjustly  accused  of  personal  hostili- 
ty to  the  late  Gov.  Wright :  we  may  as  well  say,  we 
mean  HORATIO  SEYMOUR,  of  Utica.  Mr.  Seymour  said, 
"  Mr.  Wright  was  a  great  man,  an  honest  man :  if  he 
committed  errors,  they  were  induced  by  his  devotion  to 
his  party.  He  was  not  selfish :  to  him  his  party  was 
every  thing  —  himself  nothing."  In  this  opinion  we 
most  cordially  concur.  Having  said  thus  much,  we  shall 
continue  to  speak  of  him  as  we  have  heretofore  spoken, 
with  perfect  freedom,  and  without  the  most  distant  de- 
sire to  conceal  or  palliate  his  errors,  if  he  committed  any, 
(and  who  does  not  err  ?)  satisfied  as  we  are,  and  as  we 
believe  our  readers  will  be,  that  such  errors  never  origi- 
nated from  bad  motives. 

The  amendment  offered  by  Mr.  Wright  was  rejected, 
only  two  members  of  the  Senate  voting  in  its  favor. 

After  Mr.  Wright's  amendment  was  disposed  of,  Mr. 
Livingston,  from  Columbia  county,  moved  the  postpone- 
ment of  the  further  consideration  of  the  report  and  bill 
till  the  first  Monday  in  November.  This  motion  was  equiv- 
alent to  a  motion  to  reject  the  bill  from  the  assembly. 
The  speech  of  Mr.  Livingston,  in  support  of  his  motion, 
gave  great  offence  to  the  public.  He  said,  among  other 
things,  that  he  had  no  evidence  that  the  sober  part  of  the 
community  desired  the  passage  of  an  electoral  law,  and 
that  the  "  clamor  in  favor  of  it  emanated  from  bar-rooms.'' 
The  November  election  proved  his  error.  Instead  of  the 
sound  of  the  orgies  of  a  bar-room,  a  voice  issued  from  the 
ballot-boxes  which,  for  a  time  at  least,  announced  the  doom 
of  those  who  refused  to  the  people  the  right  which  they 
demanded. 

Mr.  Livingston's  motion  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  sev- 


• 

54  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

enteen  to  fourteen — Mr.  Wright  voted  with  the  majority. 
It  is  due  to  him  to  give  to  the  reader  his  reasons  for  that 
vote  in  his  own  words  : 

"  Mr.  Wright  said  he  had  the  honor  of  offering  a  prop- 
osition giving  to  the  people  the  choice  of  electors  by 
general  ticket,  and  by  a  majority  of  votes,  which  he  had 
supposed  the  only  safe  system  to  be  adopted.  He  had, 
however,  been  unfortunate  enough  not  to  be  able  to  in- 
duce but  three  members  of  the  senate  to  think  with  him, 
after  all  the  reasons  he  could  offer  in  favor  of  the  propo- 
sition. A  proposition  had  then  been  made  to  make  the 
choice  by  districts,  which,  after  being  fully  and  ably  dis- 
cussed, had  received  but  two  votes ;  and  now,  said  Mr. 
W.,  we  have  rejected  the  proposition  to  choose  by  gen- 
eral ticket  and  plurality  of  votes.  Divisions  have  been 
taken  upon  all  these  propositions,  and  the  name  of  every 
member  of  the  house  stands  recorded  upon  our  journals, 
with  his  vote  upon  each  proposition  distinctly  given. 
These,  Mr.  W.  said,  were  all  the  propositions  he  had 
heard  suggested,  nor  had  he  ingenuity  enough  to  suggest 
or  devise  a  fourth.  He  therefore  despaired  of  even  a 
hope  that  the  senate  could  agree  upon  a  'law,  as  he  did 
not  believe  that  members  trifled  with  their  votes  upon  this 
important  subject,  or  were  prepared  to  change  their  names 
as  they  already  stood  upon  the  journals.  These  being 
his  views,  Mr.  W.  said  he  should  vote  for  the  postpone- 
ment, unless  he  could  hear  some  reasons  to  convince  him 
that  his  conclusions  were  not  correct.  The  resolution 
(Mr.  Cramer's)  just  taken  could  not  be  made  effective, 
as  both  the  majority  and  plurality  systems,  by  one  of 
which  alone  it  could  be  made  so,  had  been  deliberately 
rejected,  and  he  saw  no  good  reason  for  spending  more 
time  on  the  subject." 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  55 

Gov.  Yates,  in  his  message  at  the  commencement  of 
the  session,  had  taken  ground  against  any  change  of  the 
mode  of  choosing  presidential  electors  during  the  session. 
After  the  rejection  of  the  bill  from  the  assembly  on  that 
subject,  the  public  indignation  was  not  only  great  against 
the  SEVENTEEN,  by  whose  votes  it  was  rejected,  but  it  ex- 
tended to  the  governor,  who  was  regarded  as  in  some 
measure  the  cause  of  its  rejection.  When  Mr.  Yates,  in 
1822,  was  nominated  as  the  democratic  gubernatorial  can- 
didate, a  considerable  portion  of  the  democratic  party 
would  have  preferred  Col.  Young ;  and  the  present  popu- 
lar excitement  against  Mr.  Yates,  principally  in  conse- 
quence of  the  sentiments  he  had  expressed  against  the 
passage  of  an  electoral  law,  furnished  good  ground  for 
the  friends  of  Col.  Young  to  urge  his  nomination  for  the 
office  of  governor,  when  the  present  term  should  expire, 
in  preference  to  that  of  Gov.  Yates.  Col.  Young  had 
declared  himself  in  favor  of  passing  such  a  law  as  was 
advocated  by  his  friend,  Mr.  Cramer ;  and  therefore  all 
the  Adams  and  Clay  men  in  the  legislature  (and  there 
was  but  one  democratic  member,  Col.  Wheeler,  of  Steu- 
ben,  who  was  openly  in  favor  of  Gen.  Jackson)  were  for 
Col.  Young,  as  also  a  considerable  number  of  the  friends 
of  Mr.  Crawford,  who  had  opposed  the  electoral  law, 
because  they  believed  the  probability  of  electing  Col. 
Young  was  much  greater  than  that  of  succeeding  with 
Gov.  Yates.  These  views  were  freely  expressed  in  a 
caucus  of  the  members  of  the  legislature,  held  for  the 
purpose  of  nominating  a  governor,  but  Mr.  Wright  pro- 
tested against  abandoning  a  political  friend  because  he 
had  become  unpopular  in  consequence  of  supporting  the 
measures  of  his  party ;  and  in  this  he  was  joined  by  Mr. 
Flagg  and  some  others.  These  gentlemen  declared  that 


56  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

if  Mr.  Yates  was  to  be  prostrated  for  recommending  a 
measure  in  accordance  with  the  views  and  at  the  request 
of  his  political  friends,  they  were  ready  and  willing  to 
sink  with  him.  Whatever  opinion  we  may  entertain  of 
the  propriety  of  the  recommendation  of  Gov.  Yates  on 
the  subject  of  the  electoral  law,  we  cannot  but  regard 
the  course  taken  by  Mr.  Wright  on  this  occasion  as  evi- 
dence of  correct  and  honorable  feeling.  A  large  major- 
ity of  the  convention  was,  however,  for  Mr.  Young,  and 
he  was  declared  the  regular  nominee. 

Notwithstanding  Col.  Young,  who  had  heretofore  been 
the  favorite  of  those  democrats  who  supported  the  elec- 
toral law,  had  been  selected  as  the  democratic  guberna- 
torial candidate,  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the  people's 
party,  both  in  and  out  of  the  legislature, — among  the 
former  were  Gen.  Tallmadge  and  Mr.  Wheaton  of  the 
assembly,  and  Messrs.  Ogden,  Burrows,  and  Burt  of  the 
senate, — refused  to  support  him,  because  they,  probably 
without  cause,  believed  that  if  elected  he  would  be  influ- 
enced in  the  administration  of  the  government  by  the 
Crawford  party,  or  as  the  leaders  of  that  party  were  then 
called,  the  "  Albany  regency."*  With  a  view  to  destroy 
the  influence  of  these  men  among  their  old  political 
friends,  the  Crawford  party  charged  on  the  people's  party 
a  disposition  to  coalesce  with  the  Clintonians ;  and,  with 
a  view  of  identifying  the  people's  party  with  the  Clinto- 
nians, and  when  that  should  be  done,  of  recovering,  in 
consequence,  many  fugitives  and  deserters  from  their  own 
ranks,  or  of  creating  an  irreparable  breach  between  the 
Clintonians  and  people's  party,  they  adopted  a  singular, 
but  daring  and  bold  project.  This  was  the  removal  of 


«  2  Political  History,  157. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  57 

De  Witt  Clinton  from  the  office  of  canal  commissioner,  a 
station  which  he  had  held  with  distinguished  usefulness 
to  the  state  ever  since  the  organization  of  the  board  of 
commissioners.  His  great  and  efficient  services  in  de- 
vising and  executing  that  magnificent  work  which  uni- 
ted the  great  western  lakes  with  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  were 
then  as  now  known  and  acknowledged  in  the  state  and 
nation,  and  indeed  in  Europe  as  well  as  America.  No 
charge  of  nonfeasance  or  malfeasance  was  ever  pretended 
to  exist  against  him.  The  sole  object  must  have  been 
to  compel  Gen.  Tallmadge,  and  others  of  the  people's 
party  in  the  legislature,  to  vote  on  the  question.  If  they 
voted  for  the  removal,  then  it  was  believed  the  Clinto- 
nians,  who,  though  in  the  minority,  were  yet  a  powerful 
party,  would  denounce  them,  and  refuse  to  vote  at  the 
polls  for  any  of  their  candidates ;  if  they  should  vote  against 
it,  an  inference  was  to  be  made  and  pressed  upon  the  peo- 
ple, that  they  were  secretly  combined  with  the  Clintonian 
party.  Mr.  Bowman,  a  western  senator  living  on  the  line 
of  the  grand  canal,  was  selected,  and  favored  with  the 
opportunity  of  immortalizing  himself  as  the  file-leader  in 
the  execution  of  this  disgraceful  scheme.  On  the  last  day 
of  the  session,  and  within  an  hour  of  the  final  adjourn- 
ment, Mr.  Bowman  offered  a  resolution  for  the  removal 
of  DE  WITT  CLINTON  from  the  office  of  canal  commis- 
sioner. The  question  on  the  resolution  was  immediately 
taken  without  debate,  and  earned,  only  three  members 
voting  against  it.  Mr.  Cramer,  although  he  probably  felt 
more  interest  in  the  success  of  Col!  Young  than  any  other 
senator,  much  to  his  honor,  was  one  of  the  three.  The 
resolution  was  forthwith  sent  to  the  assembly,  who  con- 
curred by  a  vote  of  sixty -four  to  thirty- four,  Gen.  Tall- 
madge and  Mr.  Wheaton  voting  for  concurring.  What 


58  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

effect  this  movement  had  upon  the  two  parties,  and  upon 
the  future  political  fortunes  of  Mr.  Clinton  himself,  as 
well  as  its  fatal  effect  upon  Gen.  Tallmadge,  we  have 
related  in  the  second  volume  of  the  work  to  which  we 
have  so  frequently  referred. 

We  lament  to  see  the  name  of  Silas  Wright  among 
those  who  voted  for  this  resolution.  It  was  wrong,  and 
we  have  no  doubt  he  soon  felt  and  deeply  regretted  his 
error.  Like  all  party  measures  which  are  wrong  in  them- 
selves, but  devised  and  adopted  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
taining a  supposed  temporary  advantage  over  political 
opponents,  this  measure  resulted  in  great  injury  to  its  au- 
thors. The  removal  of  De  Witt  Clinton,  and  the  refusal 
to  pass  an  electoral  law,  produced,  within  a  few  short 
months,  and  at  the  very  next  election,  the  utter  over- 
throw of  the  party  then  in  the  ascendency.  Mr.  Clinton 
was  elected  governor  by  an  unprecedented  majority,  and 
in  the  popular  branch  of  the  legislature  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  the  members  elected  were  opposed  to  the  Al- 
bany regency. 

The  election  of  Mr.  Clinton  did  not  diminish  the  hos- 
tility, or  perhaps  prejudice  would  be  the  preferable  word, 
of  the  people's  party  in  the  senate  against  him.  Messrs. 
Gardiner,  Burrows,  Burt,  Haight,  Lynde,  and  Ogden,  all  ol 
whom  belonged  to  the  people's  party,  still  entertained  the 
same  feelings  towards  him.  General  Tallmadge,  too, 
who  had  been  elected  lieutenant-governor,  and  was  there- 
fore president  of  the  senate,  entered  fully  into  their  feel- 
ings and  views.  A  question  soon  came  before  the  sen- 
ate which  called  into  action  those  feelings.  The  term 
of  service  of  Rufus  King,  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  was  to  expire  on  the  fourth  of  March,  1825,  arid 
on  the  first  day  of  February,  1825,  (the  day  fixed  by  law 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  59 

for  the  election  of  senators  of  the  United  States,)  the  as- 
sembly nominated  Ambrose  Spencer,  late  chief-justice, 
for  that  office.  His  long  experience,  his  age,  and  emi- 
nent talents,  seemed  to  designate  him  above  all  others  as 
the  most  suitable  man  to  be  selected  for  that  important 
station.  Nevertheless,  the  gentlemen  above  mentioned 
protested  against  his  appointment,  and  early  manifested  a 
determination  to  oppose  it.  The  remnant  of  the  seven- 
teen who  had  defeated  the  passage  of  the  electoral  law, 
were  of  course  opposed  to  Judge  Spencer.  The  judge, 
from  the  year  1816,  had  been,  as  he  always  was  in  every 
cause  in  which  he  engaged,  an  ardent  supporter  of  De 
Witt  Clinton,  and  was,  besides,  connected  with  him  by 
marriage.  The  people's  men,  therefore,  were  not  dis- 
pleased at  an  opportunity  of  manifesting  their  discourtesy 
towards  him.  In  this  we  think  they  displayed  a  want  of 
magnanimity.  They  had,  it  is  true,  differed  from  Judge 
Spencer ;  but  those  points  of  difference  no  longer  existed, 
and  one  would  have  supposed  they  would  have  seized 
with  eagerness  an  opportunity  of  manifesting  their  regard 
for  an  eminent  man  of  acknowledged  integrity,  who  had 
been  long  in  political  life,  and  acted  a  most  conspicuous 
part  on  the  political  theatre,  by  giving  him  a  parting  to- 
ken of  respect  and  kindness.  These  considerations,  how- 
ever, had  no  weight  with  the  people's  party.  On  this 
occasion  they  joined  with  the  Crawford  party,  who  together 
devised  a  most  extraordinary  scheme  to  prevent  the  elec- 
tion of  Judge  Spencer.  The  opponents  of  Judge  Spencer 
in  the  senate  were  largely  in  the  majority  in  that  body, 
and  had  the  power  of  nominating  Mr.  Tallmadge,  Colonel 
Young,  or  any  other  person  they  preferred ;  but  this  they 
well  knew  would  result  in  the  election  of  Judge  Spencer, 
for  on  a  ballot  in  a  joint-meeting  of  the  two  houses  he 


60 


LIKE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 


would  have  been  elected  in  opposition  to  any  candidate 
whom  the  senate  might  put  in  nomination.  The  Craw- 
ford and  people's  senators  therefore  agreed  not  to  agree 
on  the  nomination  of  any  individual.  The  farce  was 
conducted  in  the  following  manner  : 

"  The  senate  then,"  says  the  journal  of  that  house, 
"  pursuant  to  an  act  entitled  '  An  act  prescribing  the  time 
and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  senators  to  represent 
this  state  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States,'  and  the  con- 
current resolution  of  the  senate  and  assembly,  yesterday 
proceeded  openly  to  nominate  a  senator  to  represent  this 
state  in  the  senate  of  the 'United  States,*  in  the  place  of 
the  Honorable  Rufus  King,  whose  term  of  service  expires 
on  the  third  day  of  March  next,  when  each  member  pres- 
ent openly  nominated  as  follows  : 


Mr.  Bowman 

nominated 

H.  Seymour, 

"     Brayton 

do. 

A.  Spencer, 

"     Burrows 

do. 

H.  Wheaton, 

"    Burt 

do. 

J.  Tallmadge, 

"    Clark 

do. 

A.  Spencer, 

"    Golden 

do. 

A.  Spencer, 

"     Cramer 

do. 

A.  Spencer, 

"    Crary 

do. 

A.  Spencer, 

"     Dudley 

do. 

E.  P.  Livingston, 

"     Earll 

do. 

V.  Birdseye, 

"     Ellsworth 

do. 

S.  Young, 

"     Gardiner 

do. 

J.  W.  Taylor, 

"     Greenly 

do. 

S.  Beardsley, 

"     Haight 

do. 

S.  Young, 

"    Keyes 

do. 

H.  Huntington, 

*  This  is  false.     They  did  not  proceed  to  nominate  a  senator. 
refused  to  proceed  to  nominate. 


They 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 


61 


Mr.  Lake  nominated       J.  Suydam, 

"     Lefferts  do.  J.  T.  Irvine, 

"     Lynde  do.  J.  Tallmadge, 

"    Mallory  do.  E.  P.  Livingston, 

"    McCall  do.  I.  Wilson, 

"    Mclntyre  do.  A.  Spencer, 

"    McMichael         do.  A.  Spencer, 

"     Morgan  do.  A.  Spencer, 

"    Ogden  do.  J.  W.  Taylor, 

"     Redfield  do.  D.  E.  Evans, 

"    Spencer  do.  A.  Spencer, 

"    Thorn  do.  J.  C.  Yates, 

"     Ward  do.  W.  Paulding,  Jr., 

"     Wilkeson  do.  A.  Spencer, 

"     Wooster  do.  R.  Crane, 

"     Wright  do.  V.  Birdseye. 

"  Mr.  Wilkeson  then  offered  a  resolution  declaring  Am- 
brose Spencer  the  candidate  duly  nominated  on  the  part 
of  the  senate. 

"  The  resolution  was  lost— ayes  eleven,  noes  twenty. 
"  Mr.  Wilkeson  then  offered  a  similar  resolution,  that 
James  Tallmadge  be  the  candidate  of  the  senate. 

"  Mr.  Redfield  moved  that  the  resolution  lie  on  the  ta- 
ble.. Carried — ayes  nineteen,  noes  twelve." 

Various  other^  ineffectual  attempts  were  made  to  nomi- 
nate a  United  States  senator,  but  without  effect.  The  sen- 
ate did  indeed  at  one  time  pass  what  purported  to  be  a  joint 
resolution  for  the  nomination  of  Albert  H.  Tracy,  and  at 
another  for  the  appointment  of  Gen.  Tallmadge  ;  but  the 
assembly,  as  must  have  been  well  known  to  the  senate, 
could  not  concur  in  either  of  these  resolutions  without  a 
violation  of  the  existing  law,  and  without  surrendermg 
the  advantage  which  their  numbers  gave  them  on  a  joint 


62  LIFE    OF   SILAS    WRIGHT. 

ballot.  They  therefore  ought  not  to  have  concurred, 
even  if  they  could  have  done  so  consistently  with  a  law 
passed  by  all  the  departments  which  constitute  the  law- 
making  power.  Every  part  of  this  transaction  is  in  our 
judgment  entirely  without  justification ;  and  it  furnishes 
another  instance  where  the  devotion  of  Mr.  Wright  to 
his  party,  and  his  rigid  adherence  to  the  rule  of  regula- 
ting his  own  conduct,  on  questions  of  a  purely  party  char- 
acter, by  the  determination  of  the  majority  of  his  political 
friends,  led  him  into  error.  No  United  States  senator 
was  chosen  during  that  session. 

Governor  Clinton,  in  his  message  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  session,  had  recommended  the  passage  of  a 
law  authorizing  the  people  of  the  state  to  choose,  by 
general  ticket,  and  by  a  plurality  of  votes,  electors  for 
president  and  vice-president.  In  the  senate  this  part 
of  the  message  was  referred  by  order  of  the  president  to 
Messrs.  Ogden,  Cramer,  and  Lake.  Mr.  Ogden  soon 
after,  as  chairman  of  this  committee,  made  a  report 
against  the  election  of  electors  by  general  ticket,  accom- 
panied with  a  bill  providing  that  each  congressional  dis- 
trict should  choose  one  elector,  and  that  the  electors 
when  thus  chosen  should  assemble  and  choose  two  elec- 
tors for  the  state.  An  ineffectual  effort  was  made  by 
Mr.  Crary  to  amend  this  bill  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
electors  should  be  chosen  by  general  ticket.  The  bill 
finally  passed,  every  member  of  the  senate  then  present 
voting  in  favor  of  it,  and  was  sent  to  the  assembly,  where 
it  was  so  amended  as  to  submit  to  the  people  at  the  next 
annual  election,  whether  the  election  of  electors  should 
be  by  general  ticket,  or  by  districts.  At  the  election,  a 
majority  of  votes  was  given  for  the  district  system,  and  in 
1828,  the  election  of  electors  was  by  districts.  It  will  be 


LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT.  63 

recollected  that  the  death  of  Mr.  Clinton  occurred  in  that 
year,  and  that  Mr.  Van  Buren,  in  Nov.  1828,  was  elected 
governor.  In  his  first  and  only  message,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
recommended  the  repeal  of  the  law  providing  for  the 
choice  of  electors  by  districts,  which  we  have  seen  was 
enacted  the  by  legislature  in  obedience  to  the  fiat  of  the 
people  expressed  at  the  polls  of  the  election,  and  the  pas- 
sage of  a  law  requiring  the  presidential  electors  to  be  cho- 
sen by  general  ticket  and  by  a  plurality  of  votes.  His 
recommendation  was  promptly  adopted  by  both  houses 
of  the  legislature,  and  a  law  passed  in  conformity  with  it. 
The  Van  Buren  party  at  that  period  was  surely  a  bold 
and  adventurous  party.  When  Mr.  Crawford  was  a  can- 
didate for  the  presidency,  they  successfully  opposed  giv- 
ing to  the  people  the  right  of  choosing  presidential  elec- 
tors ;  in  1825,  the  same  party  advocated  the  choice  of 
electors  by  single  congressional  districts,  and  in  this  they 
were  supported  by  a  large  majority  of  the  people,  speak- 
ing through  the  ballot-boxes ;  and  at  the  earliest  moment 
after  the  death  of  Mr.  Clinton,  which  explains  the  whole 
matter,  that  same  party  having  a  majority  in  both  houses 
of  the  legislature,  without  a  reference  to  the  people  who 
had  a  short  time  before  declared  in  favor  of  the  district 
system,  abolished  that  system,  and  established,  by  a  law 
of  their  own  making,  the  general-ticket  system,  which 
had  been  recommended  by  Mr.  Clinton,  and  which,  by 
their  votes,  they  had  condemned.  We  are  free  to  say, 
that  in  our  opinion,  the  law  recommended  by  Mr.  Van 
Buren  was  right ;  but  if  so,  the  bill  reported  by  Mr.  Og- 
den,  and  which  received  a  unanimous  vote  in  the  senate, 
was  wrong. 

We  gladly  turn  from  these  sinister  manrcuverings  of 
partisan  politicians  to  a  great  question  of  principle,  which 


64  LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

engaged  the  attention  of  the  legislature  of  1825,  and  in 
which  Mr.  Wright  acted  a  part  highly  honorable  to  his 
memory. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  session,  numerous  appli 
cations  were  presented,  both  to  the  senate  and  assembly, 
for  bank  charters.  At  that  time,  it  will  be  recollected  that 
the  restraining  law  was  in  force  in  all  its  rigor,  and  the 
chartered  banks  virtually  held  the  exclusive  right  of  coin- 
ing money.  Hence  bank  charters  were  of  great  value, 
and  eagerly  sought  after.  But  under  the  constitution  of 
1821,  no  charter  could  be  granted  without  the  concur- 
rence of  two- thirds  of  the  members  of  the  legislature 
elected  to  each  house.  This  required  powerful  combina- 
tions in  order  to  obtain  a  charter  for  any  moneyed  institu- 
tion. Mr.  Wright  viewed  with  abhorrence  the  grant  of 
these  exclusive  privileges. 

On  the  eighth  day  of  January  the  comptroller,  in  obe- 
dience to  a  resolution  moved  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Spencer,  re- 
ported that  there  were  then  forty-two  incorporated  bank- 
ing institutions  in  the  state  of  New  York,  having  the  right 
to  employ  in  their  business  a  capital  of  $28,900,000.  Not- 
withstanding this  gi-eat  number  of  banks  already  charter- 
ed, the  legislature  had  not  been  in  session  but  a  few  days, 
before  there  were  applications  for  chartering  between 
thirty  and  forty  new  banks.  Mr.  Wright  had  by  this 
time  acquired  a  powerful  influence  in  the  senate,  a  fact 
which  was  well  known  to  the  public,  and  especially  to  the 
shrewd  and  sagacious  agents  for  procuring  bank  charters. 
Hence  the  pressure  brought  upon  him  must  have  been 
very  great.  Whatever  could  tempt  the  ambition,  or  grat- 
ify the  cupidity,  or  minister  to  the  vanity  of  man,  must 
have  been  either  directly  or  indirectly  exhibited"  to  him, 
in  the  hope  of  gaining  his  support.  But  vain  were  all 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  65 

such  efforts.  He  took  a  firm  stand  against  the  extension 
of  exclusive  privileges,  and  maintained  it  resolutely  and 
sternly,  maugre  the  blandishments  of  political  or  personal 
friends  and  the  threats  of  opponents.  During  that  session 
sixteen  bank  charters  passed  the  assembly,  and  fourteen 
were  originally  introduced  into  the  senate,  which  passed 
to  a  third  reading.  The  greater  part  of  these  failed  of 
obtaining  a  constitutional  vote  in  the  senate ;  and  we  have 
no  doubt  that  that  failure  was  in  most  cases  produced  by 
the  personal  efforts  and  influence  of  Mr.  Wright.  After 
a  careful  examination  of  the  senate  journal  of  the  session 
of  1825,  we  have  been  unable  to  find  that  in  a  single  in- 
stance Mr.  Wright  voted  in  favor  of  chartering  a  bank.* 


*  To  show  with  what  painful  anxiety  this  combination  of  bank  ap- 
plicants bore  on  the  mind  of  Mr.  Wright,  we  beg  leave  to  relate  an  anec- 
dote communicated  to  the  author  by  a  gentleman  who  lodged  in  the  eame 
room  with  Mr.  Wright,  during  the  winter  of  1825.  Mr.  Wright  was  oc- 
casionally subject  to  restless  nights,  or  rather  his  sleep  was  sometimes  un- 
quiet One  night  which  succeeded  a  day  when  some  of  the  bank  bills 
had  been  discussed  in  the  senate,  after  Mr.  W.  had  been  asleep  for  some 
time,  he  sprang  from  his  bed  to  the  floor,  being  still  asleep,  and  exclaimed 
with  a  loud  voice,  "  My  God  !  the  combination  is  too  strong — every  bank 
will  pass  !"  When  he  awoke  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  his  ner- 
vous system  could,  be  so  far  quieted  as  to  enable  him  to  obtain  any  more 
rest  during  that  night 

5 


66  LIFE    OP    SILAS    WEIGHT. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Result  of  the  Election  in  November,  1825— Mr.  Wright's  Influence  in  the 
Senate — His  Manner  of  discussing  Questions — Case  of  Jasper  Ward — 
Mr.  Wright's  Report  thereon — He  is  elected  a  member  of  Congress  in 
November,  1826. 

THE  election  in  November,  1825,  resulted  in  the  return 
of  a  majority  of  members  to  the  assembly  who  were  the 
regular  nominees  of  the  democratic  party  in  the  respect- 
ive counties  from  which  they  came,  and  who  were  politi- 
cally opposed  to  the  governor.  This  result,  although 
unexpected,  might  have  been  anticipated  by  the  Clinto- 
nians,  had  they  reflected  coolly  and  deliberately  on  the 
then  existing  state  of  things.  The  party  which  was  so 
successful  at  the  preceding  election,  was  composed  of 
such  heterogeneous  materials,  that  union  of  action  among 
them  was  impossible ;  while  the  greater  part  of  the  real 
friends  of  Gov.  Clinton  were  so  sure  of  their  strength,  and 
so  confident  of  success,  sustained  as  they  were  by  the 
weight  of  character  and  popularity  of  the  governor,  that 
they  relaxed  in  their  vigilance  and  in  their  efforts.  Gen. 
Root  was  elected  to  the  assembly  from  Delaware,  and 
Coi.  Young,  who,  at  the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  was 
made  speaker,  was  elected  from  the  county  of  Sara- 
toga. 

Mr.  Wright  continued  his  constant  attendance  in  the 
senate,  devoting  himself  diligently  and  laboriously  to 
legislative  business.  His  influence  there  daily  increased. 
He  took  an  active  part  in  all  the  discussions  of  that  body ; 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  67 

he  never  on  any  occasion  made  the  least  effort  at  display, 
his  sole  object  was  to  convince  his  associates  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  his  position ;  and  being  candid  and  frank  in 
communicating  his  views,  and  clear  and  logical  in  his 
reasoning,  he  generally  succeeded  in  his  efforts.  He  did 
not  seek  to  be  eloquent,  though  sometimes  he  was  really 
so,  but  it  was  produced  by  the  magnitude  of  his  subject, 
and  the  power  and  vigor  of  his  mind,  and  not  by  any 
effort  to  dazzle  or  to  charm.  Of  all  legislative  debaters 
we  ever  knew,  except  perhaps  Daniel  Webster,  whom 
in  many  respects  he  mentally  resembled,  in  his  public 
speeches  he  availed  himself  least  of  local  and  popular 
prejudices,  or  to  use  what  is  now  a  common  expression, 
talked  least  to  "  Buncom." 

Applications  for  chartering  a  banking  company,  to  be 
called  "  The  Grand  Canal  Bank,"  also  a  bill  for  charter- 
ing the  Merchants'  Exchange  Bank,  and  three  others, 
some  of  which  we  believe  had  passed  the  assembly,  came 
before  the  senate  early  in  this  session,  but  all  of  them 
were  opposed  by  Mr.  Wright,  and  rejected,  or  indefinite- 
ly postponed  by  the  votes  of  a  large  majority  of  the  sen- 
ators. There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  arguments  of  Mr. 
Wrjght  at  the  preceding  and  present  session  had  a  pow- 
erful if  not  a  decisive  influence  in  changing  the  opinions 
of  a  majority  of  his  associates,  which  produced  the  result 
we  have  mentioned. 

At  the  preceding  session  of  the  legislature,  in  •  pursu- 
ance of  the  recommendation  of  Gov.  Clinton,  two  amend- 
ments had  been  proposed  to  the  constitution,  one  of  which 
was  an  extension  of  the  elective  franchise,  and  the  other 
to  provide  for  the  election  of  justices  of  the  peace  by  the 
people.  These  amendments  were  submitted  to  the  peo- 
ple at  the  November  election,  and  were  approved  by  a 


68  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

large  majority  of  the  electors.  They  were  therefore,  in 
pursuance  of  the  constitution,  again  brought  before  the 
legislature  during  this  session.  When  these  resolutions 
came  up  in  the  senate,  Mr.  Wright  voted  for  the  exten- 
sion of  the  elective  franchise,  but  against  the  election  of 
justices  of  the  peace  by  the  people.  When  the  latter  vote 
was  taken,  thirty-one  members  of  the  senate  were  present, 
twenty-nine  of  whom  voted  for  the  amendment,  and  two 
only,  Mr.  Wright  and  Mr.  Mallory,  against  it.  No  doubt 
his  opinion  on  the  subject  had  become  so  fixed  and  set- 
tled that  it  could  not  be  changed  :  we  think  it  was  wrong, 
but  we  admire  that  inflexible  honesty  and  independence 
which  induced  him  to  vote  against  a  measure  which  he 
knew  to  be  popular  with  an  immense  majority  of  the 
people,  and  to  record  that  vote,  all  but  alone,  against  the 
united  votes  of  his  fellow-senators. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  session,  Jasper  Ward,  a  senator 
from  the  first  district,  made  a  communication  to  the  sen- 
ate, stating  that  charges  had  been  made  against  him  in 
the  New  York  American  and  Evening  Post,  during  the 
recess  of  the  senate,  that  "  as  an  inducement  to  effect  the 
passage  of  an  amendment  to  the  act  incorporating  the 
Chatham  Insurance  Company,  and  the  passage  of  the.  act 
incorporating  the  ./Etna  Insurance  Company  of  said  city, 
he  had  been  guilty  of  corrupt  conduct  as  a  senator  of  this 
state.  The  senate  will  know,"  said  Mr.  Ward,  "  the 
importance  of  preserving  the  integrity  of  their  own  body, 
and  how  to  maintain  their  own  honor.  As  a  member  of 
that  body,  and  to  vindicate  my  own  reputation  from  the 
base  slanders  by  which  it  has  been  assailed,  I  consider 
myself  also  entitled  to  demand  from  them  an  official  in- 
quiry into  the  subject :  and  I  therefore  respectfully  request 
that  measures  may  be  taken  by  the  honorable  the  senate, 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  03 

effectually  to  investigate  the  charges  alluded  to,  and  to 
establish  their  truth  or  falsity." 

From  this  bold  and  confident  appeal  one  would  be  led 
to  believe  that  Gen.  Ward  was  an  innocent  and  injured 
man  ;  the  result,  unfortunately  for  him,  proved  otherwise. 
The  senate  ordered  the  communication  to  be  referred  to 
a  select  committee,  to  consist  of  five  members,  with  power 
to  send  for  persons  and  papers.  This  order,  if  we  rightly 
recollect,  was  made  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  J.  C.  Spencer, 
although  from  the  journal  of  the  senate  it  does  not  appear 
by  whom  the  motion  was  made.*  On  the  7th  of  Janu- 
ary, four  days  after  Gen.  Ward's  letter  was  read  in  the 
senate,  Mr.  Wright  offered  the  following  resolution ; 

"  Resolved,  That  the  committee  to  whom  was  referred 
the  communication  of  Jasper  Ward,  made  to  the  senate 
on  the  3d  of  January  instant,  be  instructed  to  inquire  into 
the  truth  of  the  charges  contained  in  tr?e  New  York 
American  and  in  the  New  York  Evening  Post,  some  time 
during  the  months  of  July  or  August  last,  in  relation  to 
the  conduct  of  the  said  Jasper  Ward,  in  effecting  the 
passage  of  an  amendment  to  the  act  incorporating  the 
Chatham  Insurance  Company,  and  the  passage  of  the  act 
incorporating  the  ^Etna  Company,  and  into  other  im- 
proper conduct  in  the  passage  of  either  of  the  said  bills, 
in  which  the  said  Jasper  Ward  shall  appear  to  have  been 
directly  or  indirectly  concerned." 

The  investigation  by  the  committee  was  laborious  and 
thorough,  and  the  report  able,  as  our  readers  will  readily 
believe  when  they  recollect  that  two  such  men  as  Silas 
Wright  and  John  C.  Spencer  conducted  the  examination 


*  Wright,  Spencer,  Burrows,  McCall,  and  Haight,  Were  appointed  by 
the  president  to  constitute  the  committee. 


70  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

and  drew  the  report.  The  report  and  copy  of  the  depo- 
sitions taken  by  the  committee,  occupy  seventy  folio  pages 
in  the  senate's  journal. 

The  following  extract  from  the  Evening  Post  contains 
the  charges  against  Mr.  Ward,  of  which  he  complained  : 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Evening  Post : 

SIR — In  the  New  York  National  Advocate  of  this 
morning,  there  is  an  article  addressed  to  me,  with  a  string 
of  queries,  signed  "  Eighty  Shares."  Now,  Mr.  Editor, 
I  cannot  think  of  holding  any  communication  with  the 
Honorable  writer  of  "  Eighty  Shares,"  but  for  the  infor- 
mation of  the  stockholders  I  will  state  that  the  intention 
of  the  persons  composing  the  ticket  which  was  made  out 
at  the  meeting  of  the  18th  inst.,  is  to  bring  the  late  sec- 
retary to  a  speedy  settlement,  and  to  be  especially  careful 
that  neither  he  nor  the  Hon.  Jasper  Ward,  the  president, 
shall  any  longer  manage,  or  rather  mismanage,  their  af- 
fairs, but  that  the  books,  papers,  and  property  of  the  com- 
pany shall  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  men  of  integrity. 
Would  it  not  have  been  well  for  "  Eighty  Shares"  to  have 
put  one  or  two  questions  about  the  Honorable  the  presi- 
dent :  as  for  instance,  to  whom  did  he  give  the  $2,200 
which  was  drawn  from  the  funds  of  the  Chatham  Insu- 
rance Company  last  winter,  and  for  which  he  has  hith- 
erto refused  to  give  particulars,  but  says  that  he  (a  sen- 
ator at  the  time)  gave  it  to  the  lobby  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  an  amendment  to  the  charter  ?  and  further,  did 
it  all  go  to  the  lobby  ?  I  shall  decline  any  further  news- 
paper discussion.  If  any  stockholder  wishes  information, 
I  shall  be  pleased  to  give  it  him.  My  residence  is  at 
No.  33  Bowery. 

DAVID  BAKER. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  71 

The  charges  published  in  the  American  were  contain- 
ed in  a  communication  from  an  anonymous  correspond- 
ent. The  communication  was  in  the  following  words  : 

To  the  Hon.  Jasper  Ward,  Senator  : 

SIR — 1.  What  amount  did  you  receive  of  the  ^Etna 
Insurance  Company  for  your  influence  in  the  obtaining 
of  their  charter  ? 

2.  Did  you  or  did  you  not  sell  certain  certificates,  au- 
thorizing any  one  to  subscribe  one  year  from  date,  with- 
out interest,  to  that  stock  ? 

3.  From  whom  was  your  money  obtained  ? 

4.  Did  you  not  demand  this  for  your  vote  ?    When  did 
you   see  Mr.  Baker,  no   process    having  as   yet  been 
served  on  him  ?     It  is  taken  for  granted  that  your  asser- 
tion is  not  true — you  know  his  to  be  true.     There  are 
some  other  transactions  the  honorable  senator  will  in  a 
few  days  be  requested  to  answer  for. 

AN  INQUIRER. 

Several  of  these  charges  the  committee  reported  were 
wholly  unsustained  by  proof ;  but  enough  was  proved  to 
induce  Mr.  Wright,  as  chairman  of  the  committee,  on 
the  28th  day  of  February,  to  offer  the  following  resolu- 
tions : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  conduct  of  Jasper  Ward,  a  senator 
from  the  first  senate  district,  and  the  means  used  by  him, 
in  obtaining  the  passage  through  the  legislature  of  the  act 
entitled,  '  An  act  to  amend  the  charter  of  the  Chatham 
Fire  Insurance  Company  ;'  and  also  his  conduct,  and  the 
means  used  by  him,  in  obtaining  the  passage  of  the  act 
entitled  '  An  act  to  incorporate  the  ^Etna  Fire  Insurance 
Company  of  New  York,'  were  a  violation  of  his  duties 


72  LIFE    OP   SILAS    WRIGHT. 

as  a  senator,  affording  a  pernicious  and  dangerous  exam- 
ple, tending  to  corrupt  the  public  morals,  and  to  impair 
the  public  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  the  legislature, 
and  that  his  conduct  in  these  respects  deserves  and 
should  receive  severe  reprehension.  Therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  the  said  Jasper  Ward,  senator  as 
aforesaid,  be,  and  he  hereby  is,  expelled  the  senate." 

This  resolution  was  laid  on  the  table  ;  and,  on  the  mo- 
tion of  Mr.  McCall,  a  member  of  the  select  committee,  it 
was  ordered  that  Mr.  Ward  should  be  heard  by  counsel, 
and  a  day  fixed  for  the  hearing ;  but  on  the  next  day 
General  Ward  addressed  the  following  note,  which  it  will 
be  perceived  contained  his  resignation,  to  the  president  of 
the  senate : 

SIR — Unwilling  to  retard  the  business  of  the  honora- 
ble the  senate  by  any  thing  that  concerns  me  individual- 
ly, I  have,  upon  mature  reflection,  concluded  to  waive 
the  indulgence  granted  me  to  appear  before  the  senate  by 
counsel.  I  do  this  from  the  conviction,  that  the  honora- 
ble body  over  which  you  preside  is  fully  competent  to 
decide  on  the  merits  of  my  case  as  justice  may  require, 
without  the  agency  of  counsel.  At  the  same  time,  per- 
mit me  to  request  you  to  inform  the  senate  that  I  hereby 
resign  my  seat  as  a  member  of  their  body. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  WARD. 

The  prosecution  of  these  charges  against  a  man  who 
for  a  long  time  had  been  his  associate  in  the  senate,  who 
was  his  political  friend,  and  who,  it  is  altogether  probable, 
possessed  many  amiable  qualities,  and  until  that  time  had 


LIFE    OF    SILAS  WRIGHT.  73 

sustained  an  unblemished  reputation,  must  have  been  ex- 
tremely painful  to  Mr.  Wright.  But  on  a  question  in 
which  the  purity  of  legislation  is  concerned,  no  delicacy 
of  feeling  towards  an  associate,  and  no  considerations  of 
personal  or  political  friendship,  could  restrain  him  from 
doing  his  duty,  and  his  whole  duty. 

We  submit  one  other  remark.  We  know  nothing  per- 
sonally of  Gen.  Ward.  But  we  have  a  right  to  presume 
that  he  was,  and  we  think  we  have  heard  him  spoken  of 
as,  a  man  of  fair  character,  and  an  agreeable  member 
of  society.  Yet  was  Gen.  Ward,  by  the  corrupt  system 
which  then  prevailed,  in  procuring  charters  granting  to 
companies  exclusive  privileges,  drawn  from  one  step  to 
another  of  vice,  if  not  crime,  until  he  was  placed  in  a  po- 
sition before  the  community  which  will  probably  prevent 
his  being  useful  to  the  public  at  any  future  time.  It  is 
consoling  to  reflect  that  the  new  constitution  deprives 
the  legislature  of  the  power  of  granting  exclusive  privi- 
leges, and  in  fact  takes  away  all  inducements  to  the  for- 
mation of  corrupt  combinations  to  influence  legislation. 
The  "  altar  and  the  god  must  sink  together."  The  disgrace- 
ful scenes  of  1812,  1824,  and  1825,  will  never  be  renewed.* 

*  As  a  specimen  of  the  management  of  associations  to  procure  charters, 
and  of  chartered  companies,  we  copy  from  the  report  of  the  committee  a 
part  of  their  summary  of  the  depositions  taken  by  them. 

One  of  the  charges  against  Gen.  Ward  was,  that  he  had  drawn  from 
the  funds  of  the  company  the  sum  of  $2,200,  for  which  he  had  refused  to 
account,  "  but  alleged,  that  he  (being  a  member  of  the  senate  at  the  time) 
had  given  the  money  to  the  lobby  fur  the  purpose  of  getting  an  amend- 
ment to  the  charter  of  the  company  passed  through  the  legislature." 
In  relation  to  this  charge,  the  committee  say  that  it  was  proved,  "  that  in 
the  winter  of  1823,  a  petition,  signed  by  certain  members  of  the  Chatham 
Fire  Insurance  Company,  was  presented  to  the  legislature,  praying  the 
passage  of  certain  amendments  to  the  charter  of  that  company  ;  that  du- 


74  LIFE    OF    SILAS  WRIGHT. 

In  respect  of  the  charge  that  General  Ward  received 
money  of  the  ^Etna  Insurance  Company  for  his  influence 
in  obtaining  their  charter,  the  committee  say  that  Wil- 


ling; that  session,  the  prayer  of  that  petition  was  not  granted  ;  that  in  the 
summer  or  fall  of  the  same  year,  Gen.  Ward  represented  to  the  finance  com- 
mittee of  that  company,  that  it  was  best  to  renew  the  application  for  the 
amendments  to  the  charter  of  the  company  at  the  then  next  session  of  the 
legislature,  and  that  it  '  might  or  would  be  necessary  to  issue  some  of  the 
stock  of  the  company  to  procure  their  passage  through  the  legislature." 
That  the  finance  committee  did,  pursuant  to  such  representations  of  Gen- 
Ward,  pass  a  resolution  authorizing  Gen.  Ward  (he  then  being  president 
of  the  company,  and  cx-officio  a  member  of  the  committee,  and  being  then 
also  a  member  of  the  senate  of  this  state)  and  Thomas  Hyatt  (who  was 
then  also  a  director  of  the  company,  a  member  of  the  committee,  and  a 
member  elect  of  the  house  of  assembly  of  this  state)  to  issue  stock  of  the 
company,  not  exceeding  $20,000  in  amount ;  that  the  avowed  object  for 
issuing  part  of  this  stock  at  least,  if  any  should  be  issued,  was  to  pay  such 
out-door  or  lobby  agents  as  Messrs.  Ward  and  Hyatt  should  think  it  ne- 
cessary to  employ  to  assist  them  in  getting  these  amendments  passed : 
that  Messrs.  Ward  and  Hyatt  did  take  upon  themselves  voluntarily  the 
agency  of  issuing  this  stock  for  the  company,  or  so  much  of  it  as  they 
might  think  it  necessary  to  have  issued,  and  of  employing  such  person  or 
persons  as  they  should  think  it  necessary  to  employ  to  obtain  the  amend- 
ments, although  it  does  not  appear  that  Hyatt  ever  acted  under  this  pow- 
er :  that  this  authority  given  to  Messrs.  Ward  and  Hyatt  was  perfectly 
discretionary  in  them,  with  the  single  limitation  that  the  amount  of  stock 
to  be  issued  by  them  should  in  no  event  exceed  $20,000  :  that  Gen.  Ward 
did  attend  the  senate  as  a  member  thereof,  during  the  winter  and  fall  ses- 
sions of  that  body  in  the  year  1824:  did  present  the  petition  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Chatham  company,  praying  for  the  passage  of  the  amendments 
to  their  charter,  and  did  use  his  influence  as  a  member  of  the  legislature 
to  obtain  the  passage  of  the  bill,  but  did  not  vote  upon  it :  that  he  did,  in 
the  fall  of  1823,  employ  Herman  Ruggles  as  an  out-door  or  lobby  agent  to 
aid  the  passage  of  the  same,  and  did  agree  to  give  him  for  such  services  as 
he  might  render  in  the  premises,  in  case  the  amendments  should  become 
;t  law,  a  right  to  subscribe  to  $12,000  of  the  stock  of  the  company  at  par 
value :  tliat  the  bill  containing  the  amendments  passed  the  senate  on  the 
25th  day  of  February,  1824,  and  the  same  bill  passed  the  assembly  on  the 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  75 

liam  J.  Waldron,  who  was  a  principal  applicant  for  the 
charter,  testified  that "  after  the  bill  incorporating  the  ^Etna 
Fire  Insurance  Company  had  passed  the  assembly,  and 
before  it  had  passed  the  senate,  and  some  time  in  the 


1 7th  day  of  November  of  the  same  year ;  and  that  Ruggles,  pursuant  to 
such  employment,  did  assist  in  the  passage  of  the  bill  as  a  lobby  agent : 
that  some  time  in  the  course  of  the  year  1824,  Gen.  Ward,  as  president  of 
the  Chatham  Fire  Insurance  Company,  did  issue  and  deliver  to  the  said 
Herman  Ruggles,  two  certificates  of  a  right  to  subscribe  to  the  stock  of 
;he  company  at  par  value,  one  for  the  sum  of  $8,000,  and  the  other  for 
the  sum  of  $12,000  :  that  the  capital  stock  of  the  company  is  $400,000, 
but  that  the  company,  by  its  charter,  was  permitted  to  commence  busi- 
ness whenever  $200,000  of  its  capital  stock  should  be  subscribed  and  ac- 
tually paid  in,  or  secured  to  be  paid  ;  that  the  board  of  directors  had  re- 
solved to  go  into  operation  upon  this  latter  sum  of  $200,000  of  their  capital 
stock,  all  of  which  had  been  subscribed  and  actually  paid  in,  or  secured  to 
be  paid,  before  the  authority  was  given  to  Messrs.  Ward  and  Hyatt  as 
above  mentioned :  that  it  required  a  resolution  of  the  board  of  directors  of 
the  company  to  authorize  any  additional  subscriptions  to  the  stock  of  the 
same,  and  that  no  such  resolution  had  ever  been  passed ;  that  therefore 
Ruggles  was  not  permitted  to  subscribe  for  the  stock  mentioned  in  the 
certificates  pursuant  to  the  terms  thereof,  but  that  the  secretary  of  the 
company  was  authorized  by  the  finance  committee  of  the  company  to 
make  a  commutation  in  money  with  Ruggles  for  the  certificates,  by  pay- 
ing him  a  certain  premium  upon  the  stock  covered  by  them,  in  lieu  of  his 
right  to  subscribe  for  the  stock  :  that  the  secretary  did  make  such  com- 
mutation with  Ruggles  for  the  $12,000  certificate  on  the  3d  day  of  De- 
cember, 1824,  and  did  pay  him,  in  obedience  to  the  express  directions  of 
the  finance  committee  of  the  company,  out  of  the  funds  of  the  company, 
ibr  that  certificate,  the  sum  of  $1,200,  or  10  per  cent,  premium  upon  the 
par  value  of  the  stock  mentioned  in  it ;  and  that  the  secretary  did  also, 
on  the  3d  day  of  January,  1825,  make  a  commutation  with  Ruggles  for 
the  $8,000  certificate,  and  did  pay  him  for  that  certificate,  pursuant  to 
the  further  express  directions  of  the  same  committee,  out  of  the  funds  of 
the  company,  the  sum  of  $1,000,  or  12 J  per  cent,  premium  upon  the 
par  value  of  the  stock  mentioned  in  it. 

"  In  the  proof  of  these  facts,  the  committee  believe  there  is  no  material 
contradiction  in  the  testimony  of  the  several  witnesses." 


76  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

month  of  March,  1824,  Gen.  Ward  came  to  New  York ; 
that  he,  Waldron,  called  upon  him,  and  inquired  about 
the  progress  of  this  bill ;  that  Gen.  Ward  informed  him 
it  had  passed  the  assembly;  that  there  would  still  be  great 
difficulty  in  getting  it  passed  the  senate;  but  that  he, 
Gen.  Ward,  had  made  such  arrangements  with  certain 
influential  individuals  out  of  doors,  that  if  Waldron  would 
issue  certificates  of  a  right  to  subscribe  to  $20,000  of  the 
stock  of  the  company,  it  could  be  got  through :  that  he, 
Waldron,  agreed  to  issue  the  said  certificates,  and  asked 
Gen.  Ward  how  the  certificates  should  be  drawn ;  that 
Gen.  Ward  drew  and  gave  to  him  the  form  in  which 
they  should  be  drawn,  and  also  the  amount  for  which  he 
wished  each  certificate  to  be  issued — to  wit,  three  for 
$5,000  each,  one  for  $3,000,  and  one  for  $2,000  stock ; 
that  he,  Waldron,  took  the  form  drawn  by  Gen.  Ward, 
and  made  out  the  five  certificates  for  the  amounts  re- 
spectively directed  by  Gen.  Ward,  and  delivered  them 
to  him  with  his  own  hand,  the  five  certificates  amounting 
to  just  the  sum  of  $20,000,  all  dated  the  23d  day  of  March, 
1824,  and  all  drawn  precisely  after  the  form  given  to  him 
by  Gen.  Ward,  except  that  Gen.  Ward's  form  gave  the 
right  to  subscribe  the  stock  '  within  one  year  after  the 
company  goes  into  operation,'  and  the  certificates  'with- 
in one  year  after  the  passage  of  the  act  of  incorporation ;' 
that  Gen.  Ward,  in  a  day  or  two  after,  left  New  York  for 
Albany,  and  that  the  bill  passed  the  senate  on  the  30th 
day  of  the  same  month,  as  appears  by  the  senate  jour- 
nals, page  339  ;  that  he,  Waldron,  has  no  knowledge  of 
the  disposition  which  Gen.  Ward  made  of  any  of  these 
certificates,  except  of  the  one  for  $2,000,  which  one  he, 
Waldron,  afterwards,  and  some  time  in  the  spring  or 
summer  of  1824,  bought  of  John  Radclift*  and  paid  him 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  77 

$90  for  it,  and  that  Radcliff  informed  him  that  he  re- 
ceived it  from  Gen.  Ward." 

In  the  fall  of  1826,  and  before  his  term  of  service  in 
:he  senate  had  expired,  Mr.  Wright  was  a  candidate  for 
congress  from  the  double  district  composed  of  the  coun- 
ties of  Jefferson,  Lewis,  Oswego,  and  St.  Lawrence.  Mr. 
Rudolph  Bunner,  of  Oswego,  was  his  associate.  Mr.  Nicol 
Fosdick,  of  Herkimer,  and  Mr.  Elisha  Camp,  of  Jeffer- 
son, were  their  competitors.  The  election  was  contested 
with  great  zeal,  and  with  strong  hopes  of  success  by  the 
Clintonian  candidates,  but  Messrs.  Wright  and  Bunner 
were  elected  by  more  than  five  hundred  majority. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WEIGHT. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Mr.  Clinton  re-elected  Governor  and  Gen.  Pitcher  Lieutenant-governor — 
Causes  of  this  Result— Mr.  Wright's  Confidential  Letter  to  Mr.  Van 
Buren  in  1826— Mr.  Wright's  Report  on  the  Petition  of  David  E.  Evans 
— Mr.  Flagg's  Report  on  the  Enlargement  of  the  Erie  Canal — Mr.  Rug- 
gles'  Report  on  the  State  Finances,  from  the  Committee  of  Ways  and 
Means— Mr.  Van  Buren  re-elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
—Mr.  Wright  resigns  his  Seat  in  the  Senate  of  New  York. 

ALTHOUGH  the  democratic  party  succeeded  in  electing 
a  majority  of  the  members  of  assembly  in  the  fall  of  1826. 
Mr.  Clinton  was  re-elected  governor.  But  his  success 
did  not  prevent  the  election  of  Gen.  Pitcher  for  lieutenant- 
governor  against  Henry  Huntington,  of  Oneida  coun- 
ty, the  worthy  and  popular  candidate  of  the  Clintonian 
party.  This  result  was  probably  produced  by  the  fact 
that  Mr.  Pitcher,  as  well  as  Mr.  Clinton,  was  in  favor  of 
a  plan,  some  time  before  recommended  by  Gov.  Clinton, 
for  the  construction,  by  the  state,  of  a  road,  from  some 
point  on  the  Hudson  river,  through  the  western  tier 
of  counties,  to  Lake  Erie.  The  electors  therefore  in 
some  of  those  counties,  and  especially  in  the  county  of 
Steuben,  disregarding  the  nominations  of  the  parties  to 
which  they  respectively  belonged,  voted  for  Mr.  Clinton 
and  Gen.  Pitcher. 

There  was  another  circumstance  which  favored  the 
re-election  of  Gov.  Clinton,  which  we  have  related  at 
large  in  a  former  volume,  and  we  mention  it  now  for  the 
sake  of  stating  more  particularly  the  action  of  Mr.  Wright 
in  relation  to  it. 


LIFE    OF    rilLAri    WRIGHT.  79 

The  question  in  respect  to  the  selection  of  a  candidate 
for  the  next  president  had  already  begun  to  be  agitated. 
Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Mr.  Wright,  and  other  leading  dem- 
ocrats, had  openly  expressed  their  disapprobation  of  the 
manner  in  which  Mr.  Adams  had  been  elected  president, 
and  exhibited  tokens  of  dissatisfaction  with  his  administra- 
tion. If  they  did  not  openly  oppose  it,  they  were  evidently 
cold  towards  it ;  indeed,  they  already  denounced  some  of 
the  measures  sustained  by  Mr.  Adams,  and  several  of  his 
appointments ;  and  efforts  were  undoubtedly  then  being 
made  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  prepare  the  minds  of  his  friends 
for  the  support  of  Gen.  Jackson.  Still  Mr.  Van  Buren. 
and  those  acting  with  him,  were  at  that  time  called  "non- 
committals." So  cautious  and  quiet  were  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
ren's  movements  on  this  question,  that  at  the  democratic 
state  convention,  held  at  Herkimer,  for  the  nomination 
of  a  governor,  Judge  Rochester,  of  Monroe  county,  an 
open  and  avowed  supporter  of  the  administration  of  Mr. 
Adams,  and  who  had  been  appointed  on  a  foreign  mission 
by  him,  was,  in  consequence  of  a  strong  western  feeling 
in  his  favor,  nominated  as  the  opposing  candidate  toGov. 
Clinton. 

Mr.  Clinton,  from  the  year  1824  down  to  the  present 
time,  had  been  the  open  and  decided  advocate  of  Gen. 
Jackson.  Mr.  Wright,  who  long  since  had  lost  all  his 
partiality  for  Mr.  Adams,  and  entered  cordially  into  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  views,  was  a  strict  caucus  man.  The  max- 
im of  "every  thing  for  his  party — nothing  for  himself," 
governed  him  in  this  as  in  all  his  subsequent  political  ac- 
tions ;  he  and  his  associates  supported  Mr.  Rochester, 
who  was  known  to  be  an  Adams  man,  because  he  was 
the  regular  candidate  of  the  democratic  party,  and  op- 
posed Mr.  Clinton,  who  was  equally  well  known  as  a 


80  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

Jackson  man.  Mr.  Wright  probably  believed  that  this 
course  was  necessary  in  order  to  preserve  the  unity  of 
the  democratic  party  ;  and  that  should  Mr.  Rochester  be 
elected,  if  a  majority  of  that  party  should  declare  itself 
for  Gen.  Jackson,  he  would  receive  the  votes  of  this  state 
whatever  might  be  the  individual  views  or  wishes  of  the 
governor.  Hence  the  support  of  Mr.  Rochester  became 
a  mere  question  of  expediency.  But  there  were  many 
Bucktail  democrats  in  the  state,  who  were  either  so  much 
dissatisfied  with  Mr.  Adams,  or  so  partial  to  Gen.  Jack- 
son, that  they  would  not  support  a  candidate  for  govern- 
or known  to  be  the  opponent  of  the  latter.  The  most 
numerous  class  of  this  description  of  politicians  resided 
in  New  York,  where  Major  Noah,  who  had  been  a  warm 
Crawford  man,  and  was  then  editor  6f  a  popular  demo- 
cratic paper  called  the  National  Advocate,  came  out  de- 
cidedly for  Clinton  and  Pitcher.  The  votes  given  Mr. 
Clinton  in  consequence  of  the  state  road  question,  and 
those  given  him  in  New  York  and  elsewhere  by  the  more 
ardent  Bucktail  friends  of  Gen.  Jackson,  together  with 
his  own  high  personal  merit,  enabled  him  to  leave  in  tri- 
umph the  field  of  battle,  where  nearly  all  his  friends  had 
been  prostrated. 

It  may  be  proper  in  this  connection  to  notice  the  cele- 
brated confidential  letter  written  by  Mr.  Wright,  near  the 
close  of  the  session  of  1826,  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  who  was 
then  at  Washington,  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States. 
This  letter  has  excited  more  of  the  attention  of  the  com- 
munity, and  especially  of  the  political  opponents  of  Mr. 
Wright,  than  it  merited. 

It  has  just  been  stated  that  Mr.  Clinton,  from  the  year 
1824  to  the  time  of  his  death,  was  the  open  and  decided 
advocate  and  friend  of  General  Jackson.  His  friendship 


LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT.  81 

for  Jackson  was  duly  appreciated  and  reciprocated  by 
that  distinguished  man.*  We  must  also  remind  the  read- 
er that  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  his  confidential  friends  in 
New  York,  soon  after  the  election  of  Mr.  Adams  to  the 
presidency  in  the  year  1825,  had  determined  to  support 
Gen.  Jackson  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Adams  at  the  next 
presidential  election,  but  that  a  very  large  majority  of  the 
democratic  party  in  1826  were  not  then  prepared  for 
such  a  course.  Nevertheless,  as  Mr.  Van  Buren  had 
determined  to  support  Gen.  Jackson,  as  Mr.  Clinton  was 
one  of  his  earliest  and  firmest  friends,  and  as  the  general 
was  equally  friendly  to  Mr.  Clinton,  the  participation  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren  in  the  prosecution  of  the  war  against  Mr. 
C.  was  extremely  embarrassing,  and  might,  if  such  war 
was  not  discontinued,  disaffect  Gen.  Jackson  with  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  and  those  who  acted  with  him.  In  this  state 
of  things  some  of  the  most  influential  friends  of  the  latter 
gentleman  at  Albany  and  elsewhere,  among  whom  we 
may  mention  that  worthy  and  excellent  man,  Benjamin 
Knower,  the  late  state  treasurer,  were  of  the  opinion  that 
no  opposition  ought  to  be  made  to  the  re-election  of  Mr. 
Clinton  at  the  next  gubernatorial  election.  But  there 
were  then  strong  and  unconquerable  prejudices  existing 
against  him  in  the  minds  of  a  majority  of  the  democrats, 
or  perhaps  we  ought  to  say  Bucktails,  in  the  state  of  New 
York.  This  was  the  state  of  things  when,  on  the  4th  of 
April,  1826,  Mr.  Wright  wrote  the  letter  in  question. 
In  that  letter  he  informs  Mr.  Van  Buren  that  great 
"  alarm"  had  been  excited  among  their  friends  at  Albany, 
because  Mr.  M.  M.  Noah,  and  some  other  political  friends 
m  the  city  of  New  York,  had  declared  themselves  in  favor 


2  Political  History,  256. 

6 


82  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

of  the  re-election  of  Mr.  Clinton.  He  then  goes  on  to.  argue 
that  such  a  policy  would  be  unwise  and  dangerous ;  that 
the  Adams  party,  which  then  comprised  a  large  portion  of 
the  democratic  party,  would,  if  no  candidate  in  opposi- 
tion to  Mr.  Clinton  was  regularly  nominated,  make  a 
nomination  ;  and  "  such  a  candidate,"  said  he,  "  the  great 
body  of  our  political  friends  throughout  the  state  would 
enlist  themselves  to  support  against  Clinton."  *  *  * 
•'  Should  we,"  continued  Mr.  Wright,  "  decline  to  support 
the  candidate  run  against  Clinton,  because  he  was  friend- 
ly to  Adams,  this  would  inevitably  induce  the  friends  of 
that  candidate,  two-thirds  of  whom,  so  far  as  the  state  is 
concerned,  would  be  our  friends,  not  only  to  ran  con- 
gress, senate,  and  assembly  tickets,  but  to  run  them 
pledged  to  Adams.  In  any  event  then,  from  this  state 
of  things,  it  does  appear  to  me,  that  we  should  be  be- 
tween two  fires  without  the  least  prospect  of  escaping 
the  flames,  instead  of  bringing  off  the  spoils."  This  last 
expression  has  been  animadverted  upon  with  great  se- 
verity. But  if  this  sentiment,  and  the  utterance  of  it 
confidentially  to  a  friend,  be  sinful,  we  have  only  to  say, 
let  the  politician,  in  the  state  of  New  York  who  in  this 
respect  is  without  sin,  "  cast  the  first  stone." 

Having  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  sound  policy 
required  that  a  candidate  against  Mr.  Clinton  should  be 
put  in  nomination  at  a  regular  democratic  state  convention, 
Mr.  Wright  next  proceeds  to  consider  the  question,  who 
that  candidate  should  be ;  and  he  thereupon,  under  the 
seal  of  confidence,  discusses  with  great  freedom  the  mer- 
its of  several  gentlemen  who  were  spoken  of  as  candi- 
dates, and  finally  concludes  that  Mr.  Sanford,  the  late 
chancellor,  would  be  the  most  available.  His  description 
of  the  characters  of  the  persons  he  mentions  is  exceed- 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  83 

ingly  graphic,  but  according  to  our  notions  is  just,  while 
it  is  far  from  furnishing  the  least  evidence  of  unkind  feel- 
mgs  on  the  part  of  the  writer. 

Our  moral  sensibilities  may  be  more  obtuse  than  those 
of  other  men,  but  considering  the  circumstances  under 
which  this  letter  was  written,  and  that  the  object  of  the  au- 
thor was  to  present  his  views  of  what  was  the  wisest  policy 
to  be  adopted  in  the  existing  exigency,  we  are  unable  to 
perceive  any  cause  for  charging  Mr.  Wright  with  improp- 
er or  unjustifiable  motives.* 


*  As  this  letter,  at  the  time  it  first  made  its  appearance  in  the  newspa- 
pers, was  published  in  most  if  not  all  of  the  papers  in  the  state  belonging 
to  the  party  then  known  by  the  name  of  National  Republicans,  and  as  in 
1846  it  was  republished  in  many  of  the  whig  papers,  it  may  gratify  the 
curiosity  of  some  readers  to  be  informed  how  it  happened  that  it  was  pub- 
lished at  all.  The  following  are  the  facts  in  relation  to  it : 

The  letter,  as  before  stated,  was  written,  and  sent  to  Mr.  Van  Bnren  at 
Washington,  in  April,  1826.  When  in  1829  he  was  inaugurated  as  gov- 
ernor of  the  state,  he  brought  this  letter  with  other  papers  from  Washing- 
ton to  Albany  ;  but  he  was  soon  afterwards  appointed  by  Gen.  Jackson 
secretary  of  state,  and  returned  to  Washington.  The  letter  in  question 
was  accidentally  left  in  a  bureau,  in  which  he  probably  kept  other  private 
papers  while  at  Albany.  In  the  autumn  of  1829  or  1830,  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
rcn  directed  the  furniture  he  had  left  in  Albany  to  be  sold  at  auction,  and 
this  bureau  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Frederick  Porter,  who  was  engaged  in 
mercantile  business  in  that  city.  When  Mr.  Porter  opened  the  bureau, 
for  the  purpose  of  depositing  his  own  papers  in  it,  he  discovered  Mr. 
Wright's  letter,  and  forthwith  brougtft  it  to  me,  and  informed  me  of  the 
means  by  which  it  came  into  his  possession.  It  was  an  open  letter,  and 
I  read  it  Perceiving  it  was  strictly  a  confidential  letter,  and  learning  that 
it  came  into  Mr.  Porter's  hands  entirely  by  accident,  I  advised  him  to  re- 
turn it  to  Mr.  Wright.  He  seemed  not  to  agree  with  me  in  opinion,  and 
I  finally  told  him  I  could  not  consent  to  have  any  agency  in  its  publica- 
tion. It  was  then  within  a  few  days  of  the  annual  election  ;  and  Mr.  Porter 
the  next  day,  having,  as  I  suppose,  in  the  interval  communicated  the  sub- 
stance of  the  letter  to  some  persons  who  were  warmly  engaged  in  trie 
political  contest  then  being  carried  on,  called  on  me  and  demanded  the 


84  LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

In  the  senate,  Mr.  Wright  was  chairman  of  the  Canal 
Committee,  then,  and  perhaps  now,  the  most  important 
committee  of  that  house.  The  triumphant  completion  ot" 
the  Erie  and  Champlain  canals,  and  the  zeal  displayed  by 
Gov.  Clinton  for  internal  improvements  in  all  his  commu- 
nications, and  especially  in  his  annual  messages,  had  pro- 
duced a  highly  excited  feeling  in  every  section  of  the 
state  where  the  construction  of  canals  was  believed  to  be 
practicable.  Gov.  Clinton,  in  his  message  in  1825,  had 
specifically  mentioned  a  great  number  of  localities  where 
canals  might  be  constructed,  and  invited  the  attention  of 
the  legislature  to  the  subject ;  and  the  legislature,  during 
the  session  which  followed  the  delivery  of  that  message, 
had  made  a  provision  for,  and  directed  the  survey  of  SEVEN- 
TEEN of  the  routes  enumerated  by  the  governor.  All  this 
was  calculated  to  excite  the  efforts  and  flatter  the  hopes 
of  citizens  living  on,  or  owning  lands  in  the  neighborhood 
of  these  various  routes. 

The  project,  of  procuring  the  passage  of  a  law  for  the 
construction  of  the  Chenango  Canal,  had  been  for  some 
time  agitated,  and  although  opposed  by  a  majority  of  the 
canal  board,  and  although  among  those  who  opposed  it  in 
the  board  were  Mr.  Marcy,  then  comptroller,  Mr.  Flagg, 
secretary  of  state,  and  Col.  Young,  canal  commissioner, 
a  bill  for  the  construction  of  this  canal  passed  the  assem- 
bly, and  was  sent  to  the  senate  for  concurrence.  About 
this  time  the  Genesee  Valley  and  Black  River  canals 

letter.    I  delivered  it  to  him,  and  it  was  immediately  published  in  a  paper 
called  the  Workingtnan'a  Advocate. 

Mr.  Porter  is,  I  am  told,  now  a  resident  of  the  city  of  Albany.  I  have 
not  seen  him  for  many  years,  but  he  was  when  I  knew  him,  and  I  pre- 
sume is  now,  a  worthy  and  respectable  citizen ;  he  therefore  can  testify  to 
the  correctness  of  this  statement.  J.  D.  H. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  86 

were  also  projected.  These  great  interests  and  power- 
ful combinations  brought  a  pressure  upon  Mr.  Wright  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  canals,  which  few  men 
could  have  resisted.  But  having,  after  due  considera- 
tion, made  up  his  mind  on  the  subject  of  the  extension  of 
internal  improvements,  and  the  increase  of  the  debt  of  the 
state,  he  did  not  attempt  to  temporize ;  on  the  contrary,  he 
sought  an  occasion  to  declare  to  the  legislature  and  the 
people  his  fixed  and  settled  principles.  Such  an  occasion 
soon  occurred. 

Early  in  the  session  of  1827,  a  petition,  signed  by  Da- 
vid E.  Evans,  and  many  other  worthy  and  influential 
citizens  of  the  western  part  of  the  state,  was  presented  to 
the  senate,  praying  for  the  construction  by  the  state  of  a 
canal  from  the  Erie  Canal,  by  the  way  of  Tonawanda 
creek,  to  the  Alleghany  river  at  Olean  ;  and  in  case  the 
legislature  should  think  it  inexpedient  to  engage  in  the 
enterprise  at  the  expense  of  the  state,  and  on  its  account, 
then  that  an  act  might  be  passed  incorporating  certain 
individuals  by  the  name  of  the  "  Tonawanda  Canal  Com 
pany,"  with  a  capital  of  $800,000,  with  power  to  con- 
struct the  said  canal.  This  petition  was  referred  to  the 
committee  on  canals,  at  that  time  consisting  of  Wright. 
Golden,  and  Haight.  The  improvement  asked  for  was 
substantially  the  same  as  that  subsequently  adopted  under 
the  name  of  the  Genesee  Valley  Canal.  The  Erie  and 
Champlain  canals  had  been  for  some  time  completed. 
The  canal  debt,  although  large,  was  rapidly  decreasing 
by  the  steady  application  of  the  proceeds  of  the  canal 
fund,  and  the  toll  of  the  Erie  Canal,  to  the  payment  of  its 
principal  and  interest, — thus  affording  a  certain  prospect 
that  the  whole  debt  would  be  extinguished  at  no  distant 
period.  The  petition  of  Mr.  Evans  and  others  presented 


86  .  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WEIGHT. 

for  the  consideration  of  the  committee  the  grave  and  im- 
portant question,  whether  the  paying  policy  should  be 
pursued  until  the  state  should  be  relieved  from  debt,  or 
whether  the  system  of  internal  improvements  should  be 
continued  and  extended,  which,  instead  of  leading  to  an 
extinction,  would  probably  result  in  an  increase  of  the 
public  debt.  It  was  easy  to  perceive,  that  if  the  views 
of  those  who  were  for  granting  this  petition  should  pre- 
vail, the  legislature  could  not,  with  any  appearance  of 
propriety,  deny  a  similar  prayer  coming  from  the  people 
of  the  Chenango  valley,  and  those  residing  on  the  margin 
of  the  Black  river.  Mr.  Wright  felt  deeply  the  impor- 
tance of  the  question  submitted  to  the  committee  of  which 
he  was  chairman,  and  he  arrived  at  a  conclusion  to 
which  he  adhered  during  the  rest  of  his  life  ;  which  was, 
that  the  state  ought  not,  except  in  special  cases,  to  en- 
gage in  any  new  work  of  the  kind  without  being  well 
assured  that  the  net  income  arising  from  such  work 
"  would  reimburse  the  treasury  for  the  expense  of  ma- 
king it." 

He  made  a  long  and  able  report  on  this  petition.*  He 
urged  that  the  great  principles  which  must  be  determined 
by  the  legislature  before  they  should  commence  the  con- 
struction of  any  new  canals  at  the  expense  of  the  state 
were,  "  First,  the  practicability  of  making  a  canal  upon 
the  route  proposed,  and  of  obtaining  a  supply  of  water 
sufficient  for  its  use.  Second,  the  ability  of  the  state  to 
sustain  the  expense,  or  the  resources  from  which  the 
work  is  to  be  carried  on.  Third,  the  importance  of  the 
work,  and  the  promise  of  its  utility,  and  consequent  in- 


See  Senate  Journal  of  1827,  p.  170. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  87 

come,  to  reimburse  the  treasury  for  the  expense  of  ma- 
king it." 

In  considering  the  question  whether  the  pecuniary 
ability  of  the  state  was  competent  to  defray  the  expense 
of  constructing  the  proposed  work,  Mr.  Wright  presented 
a  rapid  but  very  lucid  view  of  the  funds  of  the  state  ;  and 
although  the  future  receipts  of  the  treasury  from  canal 
tolls  exceeded  his,  and  indeed  all  sober-minded  men's  an- 
ticipation, the  statement  is  in  the  main  correct.  This 
report  is  interesting  and  valuable,  as  furnishing  an  im- 
portant item  in  the  history  of  the  finances  of  this  state, 
because  it  presents,  in  a  plain  and  simple  manner,  the 
funds  of  the  state  at  that  period.  Perhaps  no  man  ever 
lived  who  could  exhibit  abstruse  and  complicated  matter? 
with  more  clearness  and  simplicity  than  Mr.  Wright. 
From  the  view  which  the  report  presented  of  the  funds 
of  the  state,  it  was  evident  that  nothing  could  be  spared 
for  new  works  without  deranging  the  financial  schemes 
of  the  government,  then  in  successful  operation. 

The  report  protests  against  an  extension  of  the  credit 
of  the  state.  "  That  the  state,"  says  the  report,  "  has 
borrowed  money  for  the  construction  of  canals,  is  true, — 
that  it  can  again  do  it,  the  committee  do  not  doubt ;  but 
that  it  has  paid  the  money  so  borrowed,  is  not  true." 

The  practice  at  that  time  had  not  been  tolerated  to 
any  extent,  of  loaning  the  credit  of  the  state  to  corpora- 
tions, or  rather  of  borrowing  money  to  lend  to  corpora- 
tions. Had,  since  that  time,  all  loans  to  private  companies 
been  avoided,  and  had  the  state  adopted  the  doctrines  put 
forth  by  this  report,  and  rigidly  adhered  to  them  up  to  the 
present  period,  it  is  evident  the  public  debt  would  long 
since  have  been  discharged,  and  the  large  surplus  of  canal 
revenue,  now  annually  more  than  three  millions,  might 


88  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

have  been  applied  to  the  improvement  and  enlargement 
of  the  grand  canal,  and  for  the  construction  of  other  ca- 
nals. It  is  submitted  to  the  calculating  financier,  whether, 
if  that  course  had  been  steadily  pursued,  at  this  moment 
the  Chenango  Canal  might  not  have  been  completed,  the 
Genesee  Valley  and  Black  River  canals  been  as  far  ad- 
vanced as  they  now  are,  and  the  Erie  Canal  in  as  good  a 
condition  as  it  now  is,  without  the  state  being  indebted  a 
single  dollar  !* 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  we  have  seen  the  annual  report  of  the 
comptroller  for  1848,  from  which  we  extract  the  following  statement : 

"  If  the  recommendation  of  the  canal  board,  in  1835,  had  been  adhered 
to,  and  the  entire  surplus  had  been  used  for  the  enlargement  of  the  Erie 
Canal,  the  following  sums  would  have  been  applied  to  that  object,  to  the 
30th  September  last : 

1837 $717,803 


1839 1,111,517 

1840 1,060,000 

1841 1,533,224 

1842 1,177,771 

1843 1,457,733 

1844 1,802,400 

1845 1,714,566 

1846 2,202,861 

1847 2,866,000 


$16,478,763 

"  The  sum  actually  expended  on  the  enlargement,  exclusive  of  interest 
paid  on  money  borrowed,  is  $12,989,851.76.  If  the  policy  of  applying 
the  surplus  tolls  to  the  enlargement  of  the  Erie  Canal  had  been  adhered  to, 
the  work  at  the  present  time  would  have  been  much  nearer  completion 
than  it  now  is,  aud  the  debt  of  $10,122,000  for  that  object  would  not  have 
been  incurred." 

But  previous  to  the  year  1835,  and  subsequent  to  1827,  a  debt  of 
$2,270,000  for  constructing  the  Chenango  Canal  had  been  contracted.  To 
the  sum  of  $16,478,763  which  might  have  been  applied  to  defray  the  ex- 
pense of  enlarging  the  canal  if  Mr.  Wright's  policy,  indicated  in  1827,  had 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 


It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  principles  shadowed  forth 
in  this  report,  which  then  were  novel,  and  were  repudi- 


been  adhered  to,  ought  to  be  added  all  the  interest  which  has  been  paid  on 
the  debt  contracted  for  making  the  Chenango  Canal. 

It  is  no  more  thau  strict  justice  to  the  canal  board  of  1835,  and  to  Mr. 
Flagg,  who,  it  is  said,  was  the  author  of  the  able  report  to  which  we  are 
about  to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader,  to  state,  that  a  representation  was 
in  1835  communicated  to  the  assembly,  emanating  from  a  public  meeting 
held  in  the  city  of  Utica,  that  measures  ought  to  be  taken  to  effect  the 
construction  of  a  ship  canal  between  Lake  Ontario  and  the  Hudson  river, 
and  also  a  resolution  by  the  common  council  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in 
favor  of  such  canal,  and  the  construction  of  it  by  the  state. 

The  proceedings  of  the  meeting  at  Utica,  and  the  resolution  of  the  city 
authorities  of  New  York,  were  referred  by  the  assembly  to  the  canal  board, 
who,  on  the  28th  day  of  March,  made  a  report,  in  which  they  show  most 
conclusively  that  the  enlargement  of  the  Erie  Canal  would  be  preferable 
to  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal  ;  and  they  recommend  that  immediate 
measures  be  taken  by  the  legislature  to  effect  such  enlargement.  In  con- 
clusion the  board  say  : — 

"  In  urging  upon  the  consideration  of  the  legislature  the  importance  of  au- 
thorizing at  the  present  session  such  an  enlargement  of  the  Erie  Canal  as  is 
conceived  to  be  necessary  to  adapt  it  to  the  increasing  trade  of  the  country, 
the  canal  board  desire  to  have  it  distinctly  understood,  that  they  do  not 
recommend  such  an  expenditure  of  money  upon  this  work  as  will  interfere 
with  the  arrangements  now  in  progress  for  accumulating  a  sum  sufficient 
to  pay  the  Erie  and  Champlain  Canal  debt,  and  for  restoring  the  auction 
and  salt  duties  to  the  general  fund.  The  net  proceeds  of  the  canal  fund  for 
1835-6-7,  will  probably  be  sufficient  to  pay  the  canal  debt,  and  meet  the 
disbursements  on  the  contracts  for  doubling  the  locks.  At  the  close  of 
1837,  the  salt  duties  will  be  restored  to  the  general  fund,  if  the  proposed 
amendment  to  the  constitution  should  receive  the  sanction  of  the  people. 
After  the  period  alluded  to,  the  net  proceeds  of  the  canal  tolls  will  be 
sufficient  to  meet  the  disbursements  necessary  for  improving  and  en- 
larging the  Erie  Canal,  without  having  recourse  to  new  loans  for  that 
purpose." — (See  vol.  iv.  Executive  Documents  of  1835,  No.  334.) 

This  report  is  signed  by  Wm.  C.  Bouck,  S.  Van  Rensselaer,  A.  C. 
Flagg,  John  A.  Dix,  Greene  C.  Bronson,  William  Campbell,  and  Michael 
Hoffman. 

Can  any  reasonable  man  doubt  that  if  the  policy  shadowed  forth  in  that 


90  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

ated  by  a  large  and  intelligent  portion  of  the  community, 
are  now  substantially  a  part  of  the  constitution  of  the 
state. 

In  connection  with  this  report,  it  may  not  be  improper 
to  take  notice  of  the  celebrated  report  made  by  Mr.  Sam- 
uel B.  Ruggles,  chairman  of  the  assembly's  committee  of 
ways  and  means,  in  1838,*  a  year  in  which  the  whigs  ob- 
tained a  very  strong  majority  in  the  state  and  in  the  as- 
sembly. Although  the  report  of  Mr.  Ruggles  was  made 
eleven  years  after  the  one  made  by  Mr.  Wright,  of  which 
we  have  just  given  an  imperfect  account,  it  in  terms  sev- 
eral times  refers  to  Mr.  Wright's  report,  and  purports, 
and  evidently  was  intended,  to  be  an  answer  to  it. 

This  report  was  made  not  long  after  the  legislature 
had  determined  to  enlarge  the  Erie  Canal,  and  construct 
the  Genesee  Valley  and  Black  River  canals.  It  is  drawn 
with  great  ability,  and  for  eloquence,  richness  of  imagery, 
and  elegance  of  style,  exceeds  any  legislative  document 
which  ever  came  to  our  notice.  Mr.  Ruggles  first  exhib- 
its a  view  of  the  funds  of  the  state,  and  the  income  which 
may  be  anticipated  from  them.  With  respect  to  the  net 
avails  which  may  be  expected  from  the  canals,  he  thinks 
previous  estimates  have  not  been  sufficiently  liberal  as  to 
the  amount.  He  justly  remarks  that  the  income  arising 
from  the  canals  has  uniformly  exceeded  the  most  san- 
guine anticipation  of  the  projectors  of  those  works.  He 
reminds  the  legislature  that  the  comptroller,  in  1821,  esti- 
mated the  average  net  annual  revenue  from  tolls,  for  ten 


part  of  the  report  we  have  copied  had  been  rigidly  pursued,  all  the  really 
useful  public  works  would  have  been  as  far  advanced  as  they  now  are, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  state  would  not  have  owed  a  single  cent  ? 
*  See  Assembly  Documents  of  1838,  Vol.  5,  No.  242. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  91 

years  to  come,  at  $150,000,  and  that  the  amount  actually 
received  during  that  period  exceeded  TEN  MILLIONS  of 
dollars ! 

The  report  stated  that  the  Erie  and  Champlain  canal 
debt  was,  to  all  practical  purposes,  paid  in  1836 ;  that  the 
canals  in  that  year  yielded  a  net  income  of  $1,107,871.30, 
which  was  the  interest  at  five  per  cent,  on  a  capital  of 
$22,157,742.  This,  the  report  argued,  was  property  which 
the  state  had  acquired,  and  from  which,  after  deducting  the 
debt  contracted  for  making  lateral  canals,  and  two  other 
debts,  (the  Astor  and  the  bank  fund  debt,)  amounting 
in  all  to  $4,432,756,  there  would  be  a  balance  remain- 
ing of  $17,624,986,  —  a  capital  on  the  income  from 
which  the  state  might  base  its  calculations  for  future  op- 
erations. Mr.  Ruggles  then  proceeds  to  recommend 
immediate  measures  for  enlarging  the  Erie  Canal,  which 
he  thought  might  and  ought  to  be  completed  in  five  years 
at  an  expense  of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars.  He  asserts 
that  thirty  millions  may  be  borrowed,  and  the  interest 
regularly  paid,  and  the  principal  reimbursed  by  means  of 
the  canals  themselves  in  twenty  years ;  and  that  forty  mil- 
lions may  be  borrowed,  and  the  debt  extinguished  by  the 
same  means  in  twenty-eight  years. 

If  forty  millions  are  borrowed,  Mr.  R.  intimates  that 
one-half  of  that  sum  should  be  expended  in  constructing 
two  grand  lines  of  railroads  through  the  state,  and  the 
residue  in  improving  the  Erie  Canal,  and  in  making  new 
canals. 

Mr.  Ruggles  criticises  with  some  severity  the  report 
of  Mr.  Wright  on  the  petition  of  David  E.  Evans,  of 
which  we  have  heretofore  given  an  account.  The  canal 
commissioners  had  by  their  report  estimated  the  net  in- 
come from  the  Erie  Canal  after  its  enlargement  at  three 


92  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

millions  annually.  In  proving  that  the  estimate  of  rev- 
enue from  the  Erie  Canal  might  be  calculated  upon  at 
least  to  the  amount  estimated  by  the  commissioners,  Mr. 
Ruggles  presents  a  graphic  and  bold  sketch  of  those  in- 
land seas,  the  great  western  lakes,  and  of  the  fertile,  exten- 
sive, and  magnificent  states  and  territories  which  border 
upon  them — their  inexhaustible  resources,  and  the  aston- 
ishing rapidity  with  which  they  had  increased  in  pop- 
ulation and  commerce.  "  They  would,"  he  said,  "  con- 
tinue thus  to  increase  by  an  increasing  ratio.  The 
greater  part  of  the  produce  of  this  rich  and  flourishing 
country  must  find  its  way  to  market  through  the  Erie 
Canal,  which  would  so  swell  the  amount  of  tolls  as  would 
enable  the  state  to  reduce  the  tolls  from  thirty  to  fifty  per 
cent.,  and  still  secure  the  estimated  net  income  of  three 
millions  annually."  Mr.  Ruggles  appended  to  his  report 
a  table  exhibiting  the  amount  of  the  state  debt  in  each 
year,  for  ten  succeeding  years,  upon  the  plan  that  the 
state  should  borrow  four  millions  every  year ;  in  which 
case,  of  course,  the  whole  sum  borrowed  by  the  state 
would  amount  to  forty  millions.  He  also  presented  an- 
other table,  showing  that  if  the  money  could  be  borrowed 
at  an  interest  of  five  per  cent.,  a  sinking  fund,  to  be  com- 
posed of  the  surplus  canal  revenue,  might  be  established, 
which  would  extinguish  the  forty  million  debt  by  the  year 
1865. 

Before  concluding  the  apcount  of  this  report,  which 
greatly  excited  the  attention  of  the  people  of  this  state 
and  nation,  and  indeed  of  Europe,  we  will  add,  in 
this  place,  though  ten  years  in  advance  of  the  period  of 
which  we  are  now  treating,  that  the  assembly  of  1838, 
elected  under  the  influence  of  the  tornado  which  burst 
forth  in  the  fall  of  1837,  contained  a  very  large  ma- 


LIFE    OP   SILAS    WRIGHT.  93 

jority  of  Whigs,  the  senate  being  at  the  same  time  strongly 
democratic. 

The  committee  of  the  assembly  on  canals  and  internal 
improvements,  of  which  G,  W.  Patterson,  afterwards 
speaker,  was  chairman,  reported  so  far  in  accordance 
with  the  views  of  Mr.  Ruggles,  as  to  recommend  the 
immediate  commencement  of  the  enlargement  of  the 
canal,  and  that  a  loan  of  one  million  of  dollars  be  au- 
thorized for  the  ensuing  year ;  and  a  bill  for  that  purpose 
was  introduced  and  passed  the  assembly.  When,  how* 
ever,  it  came  into  the  senate,  it  was  there  amended  by 
striking  out  one  and  inserting  four  millions  of  dollars, 
and  in  this  form  it  passed  both  houses.  We  have  before 
stated,  that  in  1835,  when  the  law  for  the  enlargement 
of  the  canal  was  passed,  the  canal  board  recommended 
that  the  surplus  tolls  only,  which  might  be  received  from 
the  canals,  should  be  applied  to  defray  the  expense  of  the 
undertaking,  and  that  no  new  debt  should  be  contracted 
on  that  account ;  but  in  passing  the  law  recommended  by 
the  canal  board,  the  legislature  reduced  the  sum  for 
widening  the  canal,  by  requiring  that  $300,000  of  the 
canal  revenue  should  be  annually  applied  for  the  current 
expenses  of  the  government. 

Without  assuming  to  judge  of  the  merits  of  the  conflict- 
ing systems  exhibited  by  the  report  of  Mr.  Wright  in  1827, 
and  that  of  Mr.  Ruggles  in  1838,  as  being  a  question  which 
more  appropriately  falls  within  the  province  of  the  states- 
man, than  one  which  pertains  to  the  more  humble  duties 
of  the  historian,  who  discharges  his  obligation  to  the  pub- 
lic by  the  simple  narration  of  facts  only,  we  may  be  per- 
mitted to  remark,  that  in  our  view  neither  of  the  parties 
to  this  controversy  was  free  from  error.  It  seems  to  us 
that  Mr.  Wright  did  not  perceive  and  fully  appreciate  the 


94  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

resources  of  the  state ;  that  his  apprehensions  of  its  in- 
capacity to  make  public  improvements  and  pay  for  them, 
were  too  gloomy  and  desponding ;  and  it  is  certain  that  in 
1827,  he,  in  common  with  all  other  intelligent  men,  was 
greatly  mistaken  in  the  estimate  he  formed  in  relation  to 
the  amount  of  revenue  which  might  be  received,  and 
which,  in  fact,  subsequently  was  realized  from  the  ca- 
nals. 

On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Ruggles,  probably  too  much 
controlled  by  an  ardent  but  brilliant  imagination,  based 
his  calculation  upon  an  assumed  fact  which  experience 
very  soon  proved  erroneous ;  which  was,  that  forty 
millions  of  dollars  might  be  borrowed  in  ten  annual  in- 
stalments, at  an  interest  of  five  per  cent.  Mr.  Ruggles 
himself  in  his  report  informs  us  that  the  western  states 
bordering  on  the  great  lakes,  at  the  moment  when  he 
drew  his  report,  had  undertaken  works  of  internal  im- 
provement which  would  cost  more  than  forty-eight  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  every  dollar  of  which,  it  was  well  known, 
must  be  raised  by  a  loan,  that  is  to  say,  by  a  sale  of  stocks 
to  be  created  by  those  states.  Was  it  then  reasonable  to 
expect,  that  when  the  stock  market  should  be  thus  flooded, 
the  state  of  New  York  could,  for  ten  years  in  succession, 
borrow  four  millions  of  dollars  annually  at  an  interest  of 
five  per  cent.  ?  Experience  soon  proved  how  fallacious 
this  expectation  was,  if  indeed  it  ever  existed.  The 
price  of  stocks  soon  became  sadly  depressed  in  market, 
and  even  six  per  cent,  stocks  could  not  be  converted 
into  cash  without  a  great  and  ruinous  sacrifice.  This 
single  error  was  of  itself  sufficient  to  demolish,  and  did 
in  fact  demolish,  the  splendid  fabric  erected  by  the  tal- 
ented but  highly  imaginative  Mr.  Ruggles. 

The  bill  from  the  assembly  to  construct  the  Chenango 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  95 

Canal  was  rejected  in  the  senate  by  a  vote  of  fourteen  to 
ten. 

On  the  6th  of  February  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  re-elected 
senator  of  the  United  States.  A  feeble  effort  was  made 
by  a  few  of  the  Adams  men,  in  conjunction  with  a  ma- 
jority of  the  Clintonian  members,  to  defeat  him,  and  for  that 
purpose  the  name  of  Gen.  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  was 
used  ;  but  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  supported  with  great  ar- 
dor by  his  old  friends,  among  whom  Mr.  Wright  was  one 
of  the  most  prominent,  and  also  by  several  of  the  most 
influential  Clintonians.  He  was  elected  by  a  large  ma- 
jority. It  was  remarked,  and  we  believe  truly,  before  this 
election,  by,  as  we  think,  some  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
friends,  that  no  man  was  authorized  to  say  he  would  sup- 
port Gen.  Jackson  for  the  next  president,  or  even  that  he 
would  oppose  the  re-election  of  Mr.  Adams. 

The  re-election  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  particularly 
agreeable  to  Mr.  Wright,  and  the  more  so  as  he  was  a 
member  elect  of  the  next  congress.  We  may  perhaps  as 
well  mention  here  as  anywhere  else,  that  from  the  time 
Mr.  Wright  came  into  public  life  until  his  death,  he  and 
Mr.  Van  Buren  were  cordial  personal  and  political  friends, 
and  we  are  not  aware  of  any  one  instance  in  which  they 
differed  in  opinion.  It  may  be  presumed  that  Mr.  Wright, 
from  Mr.  Van  Buren's  great  experience  in  public  life,  and 
extensive  acquaintance  throughout  the  Union,  as  well  as 
from  his  respect  for  the  judgment  of  that  gentleman,  gener- 
ally deferred  to  his  opinion,  and  was  guided  by  it ;  but  we 
personally  know  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  entertained  the  highest 
respect  for  the  capacity  and  judgment  of  Mr.  Wright,  and 
"  the  case  must  have  been  a  clear  one  in  the  view  of  the 
former  which  would  have  induced  him  to  adopt  a  meas- 
ure in  opposition  to  the  advice  of  the  latter  , 


96  LIFE    OF   SILA8    WRIGHT. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1827,  Mr.  Wright  resigned  his 
seat  in  the  senate  of  New  York.  The  loss  of  so  able  a 
member  was  deeply  felt  by  the  people  of  the  state,  and 
more  especially  by  the  body  of  which  he  had  been  so  dis- 
tinguished a  member. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  97 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Mr.  Wright  takes  his  seat  as  a  Member  of  the  Twentieth  Congress— 
Presidential  Election  and  the  Tariff  Question— Tariff  of  1816— Tariff 
Convention  at  Harrisburg — The  Southern  Scheme  of  conducting  the 
Election — Committee  on  Manufactures — Mr.  Wright  a  Member  of  it — 
His  Report — Debate  thereon  in  the  House  of  Representatives — Mr. 
Wright  attends  the  State  Convention  at  Herkimer  as  a  Delegate— 
He  is  nominated,  and  again  elected  to  Congress. 

MR.  WRIGHT  having  been  transferred  to  a  broader  and 
more  extended  theatre  of  political  action,  it  now  becomes 
our  duty  to  follow  him  to  the  representative  hall  of  the 
twentieth  congress. 

The  presidential  election  was  to  take  place  in  the  au- 
tumn succeeding  the  session  of  congress  in  which  Mr. 
Wright  first  took  his  seat  as  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  The  great  question  on  which  it  was 
supposed  that  election  would  turn  was,  whether  a  ma- 
jority of  the  people  of  the  United  States  were  in 
favor  of  a  tariff  for  the  protection  of  American  indus- 
try ;  or  rather,  at  that  day  the  question  was,  whether 
they  were  for  increasing  the  protective  duties  then  es- 
tablished by  law. 

The  first  tariff  of  duties  levied  expressly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  diminishing  the  importation  of  foreign  manufac- 
tured goods,  was  that  of  1816,  which  was  adopted  imme- 
diately after  the  termination  of  the  last  war  with  Great 
Britain.  By  that  tariff  a  small  increase  of  ad  valorem 
duties  was  laid  upon  imported  woollen  cloths,  upon  iron, 
7 


98  UFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

hemp,  &c.,  and  a  specific  duty  was  directed  to  be  levied 
on  course  cotton  fabrics,  imported  from  beyond  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope. 

For  several  years  before  that  time  vast  quantities  of 
cheap  cotton  cloths  were  imported  from  that  quarter ;  and, 
as  few  if  any  articles  produced  in  America  found  a  mar- 
ket beyond  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  purchase  and 
importation  of  these  coarse  cotton  cloths  caused  a  large 
specie  balance  against  this  country.  The  high  specific 
duty  which  the  act  required  should  be  collected  from 
these  fabrics,  was  intended  to  destroy  that  branch  of 
trade.  It  had  the  effect  intended ;  and  in  doing  so,  it 
enabled  many  of  our  cotton  factories,  which  had  grown 
up  during  the  British  war,  to  continue  their  operations 
after  the  peace. 

The  tariff  bill  of  1816  was  reported  by  Mr.  Newton,  of 
Virginia,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  manufactures, 
and  was  supported  by  him,  together  with  a  large  part  of 
the  southern  representation,  avowedly  for  the  purpose  of 
protecting  American  industry,  and  fostering  American 
manufactures. 

Mr.  Forsyth  and  Mr.  Cuthbert,  of  Georgia,  Gov.  Rob- 
inson, of  Louisiana,  and  Mr.  Calhoun  and  Mr.  Lowndes, 
(one  of  the  ablest  members  of  congress,)  advocated  the  bill 
expressly  on  the  ground  of  protection.  Without  their  aid, 
and  the  powerful  support  of  Henry  Clay,  it  could  not  have 
passed,  for  those  members  representing  the  commercial 
interest  of  New  England,  in  the  front  rank  of  whom 
stood  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  were  opposed  to  it.*  The  op- 
position of  the  eastern  members  was  caused  by  the  belief 


1  All  this  may  he  seen,  as  well  as  the  speeches  delivered  on  that  occa 
i,  by  an  examination  of  the  files  of  Nil«s'  Register. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  9» 

that  protective  duties  would  injure  the  ship-owner  and 
importer,  and  eventually  destroy  the  ship-building  and' 
importing  business.  Times  changed,  and  men  changed 
with  the  times.  The  South  became  opposed  to  all  pro- 
tective duties,  and  the  middle,  eastern,  and  northwestern 
states  became  advocates  of  "protection  for  the  sake  of  pro- 
tection ;"  and  in  1824,  (we  believe,  for  we  write  from 
memory,)  a  new  tariff  bill  was  passed,  by  which  the  du- 
ties on  a  variety  of  imported  articles  were  considerably 
raised.  Still  the  manufacturing  companies,  and  the  pro- 
ducers of  iron,  hemp,  &c.,  and  perhaps  we  may  say,  the 
people  of  the  grain-growing  states  generally,  were  not 
satisfied  with  the  protection  afforded  even  by  the  tariff 
of  1824,  and  therefore  demanded  further  governmental 
aid.  With  a  view  of  furthering  this  object,  a  convention 
of  the  friends  of  protection  was  called  at  Harrisburg,  in 
Pennsylvania.  This  convention  met  on  the  30th  of  Ju- 
ly, 1827.  The  avowed  object  of  the  meeting  was  to  col- 
iect  and  concentrate  facts,  and  to  agree  on  a  tariff  of  du- 
ties which  should  be  equal  in  its  benefits  and  its  burdens, 
ts  far  as  equality  could  be  attained,  in  all  parts  of  the 
Tnion,  and  especially  in  those  parts  of  it  which  demand- 
ed protection.  The  convention  was  composed  of  men 
of  high  character  for  talents  and  private  and  public  vir- 
tues. Undoubtedly  a  large  majority  of  them  were  sup- 
porters of  the  administration.  Mr.  Adams  had  declared 
aimself  in  favor  of  protection,  and  Mr.  Clay,  its  great- 
est and  most  efficient  champion,  was  at  the  head  of 
his  cabinet.  But  the  members  of  the  convention  were 
not  all  of  them  supporters  of  Mr.  Adams.  Among  those 
who  constituted  that  body,  there  were  many  gentlemen 
of  high  standing  and  character,  who  were  openly  and  de- 
cidedly for  Gen.  Jackson  The  great  object  of  the  con- 


100  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

vention  was  to  reconcile,  if  possible,  the  conflicting  inter- 
ests of  the  friends  of  protection.  It  was  a  difficult  matter 
to  adjust  those  conflicting  interests.  Massachusetts,  for 
instance,  wished  to  raise  the  duty  on  imported  cotton  and 
woollen  cloths,  and  at  the  same  time  desired  to  obtain 
her  hemp  and  her  molasses  where  she  could  buy  cheap- 
est, whether  the  one  article  was  grown  in  Russia  or  Ken- 
tucky, or  the  other  was  purchased  in  the  West  Indies  or 
Louisiana.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  quite  immaterial 
to  Louisiana  whether  she  purchased  her  cotton  and  wool- 
len cloths  at  Waltham,  in  Massachusetts,  or  at  Manches- 
ter, in  England,  provided  she  could  obtain  them  as  cheap 
at  one  place  as  the  other.  The  grower  of  wool  in  the 
state  of  New  York  insisted,  that  while  the  manufacturer 
of  woollen  cloth  was  protected  from  foreign  competition, 
he  also  should  be  protected  from  the  competition  of  the 
grower  of  coarse  wool  in  Smyrna,  and  the  producer  of  the 
fine  Saxon  wool  in  Europe.  The  convention  at  Harris 
burg,  however,  in  a  spirit  of  mutual  compromise,  agreed 
upon  a  tariff  of  duties  which  would  be  satisfactory  to 
them,  and  which,  in  their  opinion,  ought  to  quiet  the 
controversy  between  the  conflicting  interests  to  which 
we  have  alluded. 

Before  the  twentieth  congress  met,  it  was  pretty  well 
ascertained  that  the  people  of  the  southern  and  planting 
states  would,  in  a  solid  phalanx,  oppose  the  re-election 
of  Mr.  Adams.*  Hence  his  opponents  in  the  grain- 
growing  states  rightly  concluded  that  his  defeat  would 
be  certain  if  any  considerable  division  could  be  produced 
in  those  states ;  and  the  conflicting  interests  among  them 
m  relation  to  a  tariff  was  looked  to  as  the  most  probable 

»  We  do  not  call  Delaware  and  Maryland  southern  states 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  101 

means  of  effecting  that  division.  Gen.  Jackson,  in  a  re- 
sponse to  an  inquiry  whether  he  was  in  favor  of  a  tariff, 
as  we  have  stated  in  a  preceding  volume,  declared  him- 
self for  a  "judicious"  tariff;  but  whether  he  intended  by 
a  judicious  tariff,  a  tariff  for  protection  or  revenue,  no 
one  could  tell.  At  the  North  and  West  it  was  affirmed 
that  he  meant  a  tariff  for  protection  ;  at  the  South  it  was 
asserted,  with  equal  confidence,  that  no  tariff  could  be 
judicious  unless  it  was  one  for  revenue  only,  and  there- 
fore that  the  general  must  have  intended  such  a  tariff. 
The  answer  of  Gen.  Jackson  was  probably  drawn  by 
some  wily  politician,  for  it  does  not  accord  with  the 
frankness  of  a  soldier,  nor  especially  with  the  honest  and 
fearless  independence  of  Andrew  Jackson. 

New  York  at  this  time  was  nearly  unanimous  in  favor 
of  the  protective  policy.  Mr.  Wright  avowed  himself 
in  favor  of  that  policy,  although  several  years  afterwards 
he  changed  his  opinion,  as  he  frankly  and  publicly  de- 
clared. In  support  of  protection,  Mr.  Wright  was  joined 
and  sustained  by  all  his  colleagues,  except  Mr.  Cambrel- 
ing  and  Mr.  Verplanck  from  the  city  of  New  York.  The 
first  struggle  in  the  house  was  of  course  that  which  arose 
out  of  the  election  of  speaker.  John  W.  Taylor,  from 
this  state,  had  been  the  speaker  of  the  house  of  represen- 
tatives of  the  last  congress  ;  he  was  a  devoted  friend  of 
the  administration  and  a  protective  tariff,  and  was  the 
administration  candidate :  Mr.  Stevenson,  of  Virginia, 
who  was  opposed  both  to  the  administration  and  protec- 
tion, was  the  candidate  in  opposition.  On  balloting,  Mr. 
Taylor  received  ninety-four,  and  Mr.  Stevenson  one  hun- 
dred and  four  votes,  who  was  thereupon  declared  elected. 
Mr.  Wright,  with  seventeen  of  his  colleagues,  all  of  course 
Jackson  men.  voted  for  Mr.  Stevenson. 


102  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

As  party  men  they  were  undoubtedly  excusable,  if  not 
justifiable,  in  voting  for  Mr.  Stevenson,  but  some  diffi- 
culties in  giving  this  vote  must  have  presented  themselves 
to  the  mind  of  Mr.  Wright.  Mr.  Taylor  was  a  New 
Yorker,  and  the  power  wielded  by  the  speaker  in  the  na- 
tional legislature,  for  the  time  being,  gives  a  local  influ- 
ence to  the  state  from  which  he  comes,  which  one  would 
suppose  a  citizen  of  New  York  would  surrender  or  give 
away  with  great  reluctance.  Again,  it  was  known  that 
the  great  question  of  the  session  was  that  of  the  tarill". 
and  it  was  also  known  that  much  might  be  done  to  retard 
and  embarrass,  or  to  forward  any  given  measure,  by  the 
organization  of  committees.  Mr.  Wright,  and  those  of 
his  colleagues  who  voted  with  him  on  the  question  of 
speaker,  well  knew  that  Mr.  Taylor  was  for  protection, 
(for  that  reason  alone  even  the  Adams  men  from  Virginia 
refused  to  vote  for  him,)  and  that  Mr.  Stevenson  was 
opposed  to  all  protection.  Mr.  Wright,  however,  must 
have  considered  the  choice  between  Mr.  Taylor  and  Mr. 
Stevenson  as  a  choice  between  a  lesser  and  a  greater 
evil,  and  that  the  consequences  of  electing  Mr.  Taylor, 
in  all  their  bearings,  would  be  more  injurious  to  the  na- 
tion than  those  which  would  be  likely  to  result  from  the 
election  of  Mr.  Stevenson.  The  Virginia  Adams  men 
did  not  so  reason. 

In  selecting  the  committees,  the  speaker  appointed 
Mr.  Mallory,  of  Vermont,  a  National  Republican,  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  manufactures.  This  he 
could  not,  with  any  regard  to  decency,  avoid  doing, 
because  Mr.  Mallory  was  conceded  to  be  a  man  of  re- 
spectable talents,  of  great  candor  and  industry,  and  had 
in  the  preceding  congress  been  chairman  of  that  com- 
mittee ;  but  the  speaker  selected  a  majority  of  Jack- 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  103 

son  men  for  his  colleagues.  Mr.  Wright  was  placed  on 
that  committee,  next  in  order  to  Mr.  Mallory.  As  Mr. 
Wright  was  a  new  member,  and  therefore  little  known 
at  Washington,  and  probably  quite  personally  unknown 
to  Mr.  Stevenson,  his  selection,  we  have  no  doubt,  was 
made  under  the  advisement  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  That 
sagacious  politician  knew  men,  we  were  going  to  say, 
better  than  any  other  man,  and  he  therefore  knew  that 
no  Jackson  man  from  the  north  would  be  likely  to  per- 
form so  efficient  a  part  on  that  important  committee  as 
Mr.  Wright. 

The  southern  members  are  generally  better  politicians 
than  the  northern  ;  one  reason  for  which  may  be,  that  the 
members  from  the  South  are  not  changed  so  frequently 
as  are  the  members  from  the  northern  and  middle  states. 
On  all  great  questions  in  which  the  southern  section,  or 
the  planting  states,  are  supposed  to  have  an  interest 
adverse  to  that  of  the  grain-growing  states,  their  poli- 
cy is  to  divide  the  votes  of  members  from  the  latter 
states,  while  they  keep  their  own  ranks  unbroken.  We 
do  not  complain  of  this  policy  on  their  part ;  in  common 
courtesy  we  are  bound  to  believe  that  they  think  the 
measures  which  they  advocate  are  right,  and  that  this  is 
a  fair  means  of  accomplishing  their  ends  in  a  legislative 
body :  at  the  same  time  it  appears  to  us  that  this  policy 
of  the  planting  states  should  admonish  the  representatives 
from  the  grain-growing  states  to  make  great  efforts  and 
some  sacrifices  in  order  to  produce  unity  of  action. 

Mr.  Wright  and  a  majority  of  the  committee  on  man- 
ufactures were  not  willing,  without  a  further  examination, 
to  adopt  the  tariff  recommended  by  the  Harrisburg  con- 
vention. He  therefore,  in  pursuance  of  the  direction  of 
that  majority,  offered  to  the  house  a  resolution  to  authorize 


104  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

the  committee  to  send  for  persons  and  papers.  This  prop- 
osition seemed  reasonable,  for  it  was  to  be  presumed  that 
the  Harrisburg  convention  had  presented  one  side  of  the 
case  only ;  and  on  a  question  so  vitally  important,  it  was 
deemed  proper  that  the  committee  should  possess  them- 
selves of  the  views  of  those  who  opposed  as  well  as  of 
those  who  advocated  protection.  The  course  proposed 
by  Mr.  Wright  had  also  the  sanction  of  many  prece- 
dents in  the  proceedings  of  the  British  house  of  com- 
mons. The  resolution,  however,  was  opposed  with  great 
zeal  by  many  of  the  friends  of  a  protective  tariff,  princi- 
pally on  the  ground  that  its  adoption  would  produce  a 
great  and  unnecessary  delay.  But  Mr.  Wright's  resolu- 
tion was  adopted  by  a  majority  of  the  house. 

After  the  committee  had  obtained  all  the  information 
within  their  power,  they  proceeded  to  deliberate  upon  the 
report  they  were  to  make,  when  it  was  soon  ascertained 
that  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion  among  its  mem- 
bers. Mr.  Mallory  was  for  adopting  substantially  the 
project  of  the  Harrisburg  convention ;  but  Mr.  Wright 
was  for  reporting  a  bill  materially  varying  from  it,  and 
with  him  a  majority  of  the  committee  agreed.  Mr. 
Wright  was  in  favor  of  reducing  the  duty  on  imported 
woollen  cloths,  and  for  raising  the  duty  on  wool.  Mr. 
Mallory  contended  that  the  effect  of  such  a  provision 
would  be  to  render  it  impossible  to  work  the  woollen  fac- 
tories without  loss  ;  that  in  the  event  of  their  suspension, 
the  domestic  market  for  wool  would  be  destroyed  ;  that, 
on  the  contrary,  the  encouragement  of  the  manufacturing 
of  woollens  would  increase  the  demand  for  wool,  and  of 
course  increase  its  price  in  market ;  and  that  therefore 
the  scheme  advocated  by  Mr.  Wright  would  in  the  end 
be  fatally  injurious  to  the  wool-grower  himself.  Mr. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WEIGHT.  105 

Wright  also  was  in  favor  of  increasing  the  duty  on  hemp, 
flax,  iron,  and  molasses.  Upon  his  plan  the  duty  on 
molasses  was  to  be  considerably  raised ;  and  the  right  of 
drawback  on  molasses  which  should  be  distilled  into  spir- 
its by  the  New  England  people,  and  in  that  form  export- 
ed, was  not  to  be  permitted.  As  a  majority  of  the 
committee  agreed  with  Mr.  Wright,  his  plan  was  adopted, 
and  a  bill  drawn  in  accordance  with  it  was  by  him  re- 
ported to  the  house  on  the  31st  day  of  January,  together 
with  a  report  setting  forth  the  reasons  upon  which  the 
bill  was  founded. 

On  the  28th  day  of  January,  the  following  resolutions 
were  offered  in  the  assembly  of  New  York,  and  were  in 
that  house,  and  by  the  senate,  almost  unanimously 
adopted  : 

"  Resolved,  (if  the  senate  concur  therein,)  That  the 
senators  of  this  state  in  the  congress  of  the  United  States, 
be,  and  they  are  hereby  instructed,  and  the  representa- 
tives of  this  state  are  requested,  to  make  every  proper 
exertion  to  effect  such  a  revision  of  the  tariff  as  will  af- 
ford a  sufficient  protection  to  the  growers  of  wool,  hemp, 
and  flax,  and  the  manufacturers  of  iron,  woollens,  and  every 
other  article,  so  far  as  the  same  may  be  connected  with 
the  interests  of  manufactures,  agriculture,  and  com- 
merce. 

"  Resolved,  (as  the  sense  of  this  legislature,)  That  the 
provisions  of  the  woollens  bill  which  passed  the  house  of 
representatives,  at  the  last  session  of  congress,  whatever 
advantages  they  may  have  promised  the  manufacturer  of 
woollens,  did  not  afford  adequate  encouragement  to  the 
agriculturist  and  growers  of  wool." 

From  the  proximity  of  the  time  of  the  passage  of  these 
resolutions  by  the  New  York  legislature  with  the  time  of 


106  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

the  delivery  of  his  report  by  Mr.  Wright  to  the  house  of 
representatives,  and  from  a  comparison  of  the  report 
with  the  tenor  of  the  resolutions,  one  is  naturally  in- 
clined to  conclude  that  the  introduction  and  substance 
of  the  resolutions  must  have  been  suggested  by  some 
person  at  Washington,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
action  of  the  committee. 

When  the  bill  came  into  the  house,  Mr.  Mallory  being 
against  some  of  its  provisions,  the  defence  of  the  report 
of  the  committee  devolved  on  Mr.  Wright.  Here  he  had 
to  encounter  an  array  of  talent  rarely  to  be  found,  even 
in  that  house, — the  sagacious  and  subtle  John  Davis  and 
Isaac  C.  Bates,  the  cool  and  calculating  John  W.  Taylor, 
the  witty  and  satirical  Dudley  Marvin,  the  accomplished 
and  classical  Daniel  D.  Barnard,  the  able  and  unyielding 
Elisha  Whittlesey,  and  that  powerful  and  most  eloquent 
extemporary  parliamentary  orator,  Henry  R.  Storrs.  But 
although  Mr.  Wright  had  scarcely  become  familiar  with 
the  localities  of  the  hall  of  the  house  of  representatives, 
he  sustained  himself  in  a  manner  so  triumphantly  as  as- 
tonished his  friends  as  well  as  his  opponents.*  He  had, 
as  was  always  his  practice  on  a  question  which  it  was  his 
duty  to  discuss,  made  himself  well  acquainted  with  his 
subject.  He  was  at  ease  and  at  home  in  every  phase 
and  attitude  of  his  case,  and  his  speech  on  that  occasion, 
which  was  very  elaborate,  displayed  an  ingenuity,  skill, 
and  tact  as  a  parliamentary  orator,  which  elicited  univer- 
sal admiration. 

Subsequent  to  the  delivery  of  this  great  and  leading 
speech,  in  the  progress  of  the  debate,  he  was  frequently 


*  One  evidence  of  a  great  native  mind  is,  that  it  always  displays  avi<j- 
or  and  a  power  in  proportion  to  the  emergency  which  demands  its  action. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  107 

called  on  to  reply  to  his  opponents.  On  one  of  these  oc- 
casions, in  replying  to  Mr.  Mallory  and  Mr.  Barnard,  he 
treated,  in  a  manner  with  him  unusually  caustic,  some 
remarks  which  had  fallen  from  the  gentleman  last  named. 
He  said, — 

"  But,  Mr.  Chairman,  are  we  to  enter  upon  this  doc- 
trine of  monopoly  ?  Am  I  to  agree,  that  this  is  the  only 
and  correct  stopping-point  in  the  protective  system  ?  I 
had  supposed,  that  when  I  put  the  American  manufac- 
turer upon  a  par  with  the  foreigner,  and  not  only  so,  but 
left  against  the  foreigner  the  whole  of  the  expense  and 
charges  of  bringing  his  goods  to  our  markets,  I  had 
granted  a  fair  protection  to  our  manufacturer,  but  not 
that  I  had  thereby  granted  to  him  a  monopoly.  Such 
protection,  and  more,  is  furnished  by  the  bill  as  reported 
by  the  committee.  But,  sir,  it  is  not  monopoly  ;  and 
hence  denunciations  against  that  bill.  Hence,  too,  1 
suppose,  the  arguments  of  the  gentleman  from  Vermont 
(Mr.  Mallory)  have  been  heard  against  the  proposition 
of  the  member  from  Pennsylvania,  (Mr.  Buchanan,)  be- 
cause that  proposition  will  not  effect  the  desired  mo- 
nopoly. 

"  I  must  here  be  permitted,  Mr.  Chairman,  to  correct 
a  misrepresentation  of  one  of  my  own  arguments  used 
upon  a  former  occasion.  I  was  represented  by  my  col- 
league (Mr.  Barnard)  as  having  urged  the  protection  of 
the  native  wool  of  this  country,  in  preference  to,  if  not 
to  the  exclusion  of,  other  kinds  and  qualities  of  wool. 
Sir,  I  used  no  such  argument.  The  bill  makes  no  such 
provision  ;  nor  has  any  such  distinction  been  suggested 
by  me.  But  the  terms  and  language  of  my  colleague,  in 
making  this  representation,  deserve  a  moment's  notice. 
After  he  had  given  this  turn  to  my  argument,  he  inform- 


108  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

ed  the  house  that  I  was  a  lawyer ;  and  then  appealed  to 
me  in  that  character — and  in  a  strain  of  eloquence,  to 
which  he  was  aided  by  a  draft  upon  the  poets — to  inform 
him  how  far  removed  from  the  blood  of  the  merino  a 
sheep  must  be,  to  entitle  it  to  protection  upon  my  princi- 
ples. When  at  home,  sir,  I  bear  the  appellation  of  a  law- 
yer ;  and  whether  my  colleague  intended  to  apply  it  to 
me  here  reproachfully,  or  not,  I  know  not ;  but  I  have 
not  considered  a  place  in  that  respectable  profession  dis- 
graceful. I  have  already  said  that  my  colleague  misrep- 
resented my  argument.  He  equally  mistook  my  infor- 
mation. I  will  assure  that  honorable  gentleman,  that  I 
have  never  inquired  into  the  degrees  of  blood  of  sheep  or 
men.  No  part  of  my  education  has  led  me  to  these  in- 
quiries. No  branch  of  the  profession  of  the  law,  which  I 
have  studied,  whatever  may  have  been  the  fact  with  my 
honorable  colleague,  has  furnished  me  with  the  informa- 
tion he  asks.  None  of  my  ambition  is  drawn  from  con- 
siderations of  blood,  and  it  therefore  never  has  been  any 
part  of  my  business  to  trace  the  blood  of  men  or  beasts. 
It  never  shall  be  any  part  of  my  business,  sir,  until  that 
system  of  monopoly  is  established  in  this  country  which 
my  colleague  so  ardently  wishes,  and  so  loudly  and  so 
boldly  calls  for  from  this  committee.  When  that  time 
shall  arrive,  his  blood  may  rate  him  among  the  monopo- 
lists. Then  too,  sir,  the  degrees  of  blood,  of  my  kindred, 
of  my  friends,  may  determine  whether  they  are  to  labor 
in  the  factories,  or  to  be  ranked  among  the  monopolists  ; 
and  then,  if  my  honorable  colleague  will  make  this  appeal 
to  me,  as  to  the  degrees  of  blood  of  these  relatives  and 
these  friends,  it  shall  be  my  duty  carefully  and  accurately 
and  distinctly  to  answer  him." 

When  the  question  was  taken  in  the  house  between 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  109 

the  bill  as  reported  by  Mr.  Wright  and  the  plan  of  Mr. 
Mallory,  which,  as  before  observed,  was  substantially 
that  of  the  Harrisburg  convention,  one  hundred  and  fif- 
teen members  voted  for  the  bill,  and  eighty  voted  for  Mr. 
Mallory's  amendment.  We  have  not  before  us  the  ayes 
and  noes,  but  we  think  we  are  not  mistaken  when  we 
say,  that  every  member  south  of  the  Potomac  river  voted 
for  Mr.  Wright's  bill  in  preference  to  Mr.  Mallory's 
amendment.  Why  did  they  so  vote  ?  The  bill,  though 
the  duties  were  so  high  on  some  articles  as  would,  it  was 
believed,  wholly  exclude  their  importation  from  abroad, 
bore  with  relentless  and  almost  ruinous  severity  on  New 
England.  The  high  duty  on  coarse  Smyrna  wool,  which 
was  used  in  the  manufacturing  of  negro  cloths,  would,  it 
was  apprehended,  exclude  its  importation,  and  deprive 
the  woollen  factories  of  that  lucrative  branch  of  their  bu- 
siness ;  the  price  of  hemp,  iron,  and  cordage,  it  was  fear- 
ed, would  be  so  enhanced  as  to  greatly  check  the  business 
of  ship-building  ;  and  the  duty  on  molasses,  an  article  for 
the  consumption  of  which  the  Yankee  nation  have  long 
been  celebrated,  and  great  quantities  of  which  were  by 
the  eastern  people  distilled  into  a  species  of  spirit  called 
New  England  rum,  and  exported,  was  regarded,  and  per- 
haps justly  so,  as  peculiarly  oppressive  to  the  eastern  sec- 
tion of  the  Union.  The  South  wished  to  defeat  any  bill 
for  protection,  and  were  determined  in  a  body  to  vote 
against  the  final  passage  of  any  bill  which  favored  the 
protective  policy.  If,  therefore,  the  bill  reported  by  the 
committee  on  manufactures  could  be  made  so  unpalatable 
to  the  members  from  New  England  as  to  induce  them  to 
vote  against  it,  their  vote,  together  with  the  united  south- 
ern vote,  would  cause  its  rejection.  The  bill  reported  by 
the  committee  was  eventually  considerablv  modified,  on 


110  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

the  motion  of  Dr.  Sutherland  of  Pennsylvania,  by  the 
consent  of  Mr.  Wright,  reducing  the  duty  on  wool,  and 
increasing  it  on  manufactured  woollens,  and  in  that  shape 
it  passed  the  house,  all  the  southern  members  voting 
against  it,  except,  perhaps,  two  or  three  from  the  state 
of  Louisiana. 

The  bill,  when  it  came  into  the  senate,  through  the  ef- 
forts of  Mr.  Webster  was  amended  so  as  to  render  it  less 
offensive  to  the  people  of  New  England.  The  house 
eventually  concurred  in  the  senate's  amendments,  and 
the  bill  became  a  law.  This  bill  has  been  denominated 
a  "  bill  of  abominations." 

A  tariff  for  protection  of  American  growers,  producers, 
and  manufacturers  is  one  thing,  and  a  tariff  for  revenue 
is  another.  In  the  one  case  revenue  is  the  object  and 
protection  the  incident ;  in  the  other,  protection  is  the  ob- 
ject and  revenue  the  incident.  The  bill  in  question  was 
avowedly  intended  for  protection,  but  as  a  law  for  pro- 
tection it  was  not,  in  our  judgment,  much  misnamed  by 
calling  it  a  "  bill  of  abominations,"  because  the  protec- 
tion was  unequal  and  unjust  to  those  sections  of  the  coun- 
try and  to  some  of  those  interests  it  professed  to  protect. 

Impost  duties  for  protection  are  nOw  repudiated.  Even 
Mr.  Clay,  the  great  champion  of  a  tariff  for  the  encour- 
agement of  American  industry,  has  declared  that  he  will 
no  longer  sustain  a  tariff  for  protection  "  for  the  sake  of 
protection." 

A  tariff  for  revenue  alone,  though  it  may  afford  some 
incidental  protection  to  the  manufacturer,  is  in  fact  a  tax 
paid  by  the  consumer  without  regard  to  his  capital  or  his 
income.  Nevertheless,  in  this  way  some  thirty  millions 
of  dollars  are  annually  raised.  If  the  protective  system 
is  to  be,  as  in  fact  it  is  abandoned,  when  the  gross  injus- 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  Ill 

tice  of  taxing  the  consumer  without  regard  to /his  means  is 
considered,  and  when  the  amount  actually  paid  by  the  con- 
sumer, charged  in  the  shape  of  profits,  on  the  amount  of 
duty  advanced  by  the  importer,  the  jobber,  and  the  re- 
tailer, is  estimated  and  compared  with  the  actual  amount 
which  reaches  the  treasury,  (probably  not  more  than  one 
half  of  the  sum  paid  by  the  consumer,)  it  may  well  be 
doubted  whether  the  incidental  protection  which  a  tariff 
for  revenue  affords  to  the  producer,  grower,  and  manu- 
facturer is  not  purchased  too  dearly,  and  whether  it  will 
not  be  better,  as  it  certainly  is  more  just  and  equal,  to 
support  the  general  government  as  the  state  governments 
are  supported,  by  direct  taxation.  But  these  are  spec- 
ulations foreign  to  the  object  of  this  work. 

No  other  measures  of  importance  engaged  the  atten- 
tion of  Mr.  Wright  during  this  session.  The  bill  for  the 
relief  of  the  revolutionary  officers  and  soldiers,  whieh 
passed  in  May  of  this  year,  received  his  vote  and  cordial 
support.  During  the  recess  he  attended  the  state  con- 
vention at  Herkimer,  as  a  delegate  from  St.  Lawrence, 
and  successfully  supported  the  nomination  of  Martin  Van 
Buren  for  governor  and  that  of  E.  T.  Throop  for  lieu- 
tenant-governor. 

Mr.  Wright  was  nominated  for  re-election  from  •  his 
district  for  congress.  The  election  was  sharply  contested. 
At  that  time  antimasonry  was  exceedingly  rife  in  the  state, 
and  the  antimasons  and  Adams  men  united  in  his  district, 
which,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  a  double  district.  This 
produced  a  very  close  election  :  Mr.  Wright's  colleague 
was  beaten,  but  a  small  majority  of  votes  was  given  to 
Mr.  W.,  although  the  certificate  of  election  was  given  to 
his  opponent,  because  the  word  "  junior"  was  omitted  on 
some  of  the  tickets  deposited  for  him,  and  because  an 


112  LIFE    OF   SILAS    WRIGHT. 

alleged  informality  had  been  committed  by  the  returning 
officers  of  one  of  the  towns. 

On  the  4th  of  December,  1828,  Mr.  Wright  resumed 
his  seat  in  congress.  An  attempt  was  made  to  repeal 
the  tariff  law  passed  at  the  last  session,  but  the  move- 
ment was  resisted  by  Mr.  Wright,  and  failed, — a  very 
large  majority  voting  against  it. 

It  affords  us  pleasure  to  be  able  to  state,  that  during  the 
short  period  that  Mr.  Wright  sat  as  a  member  in  this  ses- 
sion, two  resolutions  were  adopted  providing  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of 
the  slave-trade  as  it  existed  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and 
the  laws  in  relation  thereto,  and  to  consider  and  report 
upon  the  propriety  and  expediency  of  the  abolition  of 
slavery  in  that  district,  and  that  Mr.  Wright  voted  for 
both  resolutions,  although  they  were  opposed  by  most  of 
the  southern  members. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  having  been  elected  governor,  he  re- 
signed his  seat  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  and  it 
became  the  duty  of  the  legislature,  which  met  in  Janua- 
ry, 1829,  to  supply  the  vacancy.  At  a  caucus  to  nom- 
inate a  successor,  Mr.  Wright,  though  not  a  candidate, 
and  without  his  knowledge,  was  voted  for  by  several  of 
the  members, — a  fact  which  shows  the  great  respect  en- 
tertained for  him  by  his  former  associates. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  113 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Mr.  Wright  is  appointed  Comptroller  of  the  State — The  Importance  of 
that  Office  and  its  high  Responsibilities — The  Cheuango  and  other  pro- 
jected Canals— Mr.  Wright's  Report  in  1830— General  Fund— Mr. 
Wright  attends  the  State  Convention  and  successfully  advocates  the 
Nomination  of  Mr.  Throop  for  Governor,  who  is  elected — Mr.  Wright 
elected  Senator  of  the  United  States  in  the  winter  of  1833. 

DURING  the  session  of  the  New  York  legislature  in  the 
winter  of  1829,  and  while  Mr.  Wright  was  engaged  in 
the  performance  of  his  duties  as  a  member  of  congress  at 
Washington,  he  was  appointed  comptroller,  to  supply  the 
vacancy  occasioned  by  the  appointment  of  the  former 
comptroller,  William  L.  Marcy,  to  the  office  of  judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court.  This  appointment,  so  far  as  we  know, 
or  have  reason  to  believe,  was  conferred  on  Mr.  Wright 
without  his  solicitation.  The  multifarious  and  important 
duties,  and  the  high  responsibilities  which  a  succession  of 
statutes  have  devolved  on  the  comptroller,  are  so  well 
described  by  an  able  writer  in  the  Albany  Argus  in  one 
of  the  numbers  of  that  paper  published  in  the  year  1846, 
that  we  can  in  no  way  so  well  express  our  own  views  on 
the  subject  as  by  transcribing  his  remarks. 

"  There  is  at  this  day,"  says  the  learned  correspondent 
of  the  Argus,  "  no  officer  of  the  state  whose  duties  and 
powers  are  so  diversified,  so  extensive,  and  so  complicated, 
as  those  of  the  comptroller;  nor  is  there  any  who  is 
placed  in  a  more  commanding  position  for  exercising  a 
political  influence.  From  a  simple  auditor  of  accounts, 
and  a  watch  upon  the  treasury,  he  has  sprung  up  into  an 
8 


114  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WEIGHT. 

officer  of  the  first  eminence  in  the  administration ;  sup- 
planting, by  degrees,  some  departments  which  were  once 
in  equal,  if  not  higher  regard,  as  auxiliaries  and  advisers  of 
the  executive  power.  He  is  the  one-man  of  the  govern- 
ment. He  is  not  simply  an  officer,  but  a  bundle  of  offi- 
cers. There  is  hardly  a  branch  of  administration  of 
which  he  is  not  a  prominent  member ;  so  prominent,  in 
some  cases,  that  the  affairs  of  that  branch  cannot  be  con- 
ducted without  his  actual  presence,  although  personally 
he  may  be  a  minority  of  those  having  it  in  charge.  He 
is  the  chief  of  the  finances  ;  the  superintendent  of  banks  ; 
and  the  virtual  quorum  of  the  commissioners  of  the  canal 
fund,  with  all  the  power  which  such  a  position  gives 
him  in  the  canal  board.  While  other  state  departments 
have  no  more  than  maintained  their  original  sphere  and 
authority,  or  have  suffered  material  diminution,  particu- 
larly of  influence,  the  office  of  comptroller  has  been  a 
favorite  of  the  legislature,  and  the  chief  object  of  its  con- 
fidence, intrusted  with  high  if  not  extraordinary  powers 
of  government.  An  examination  of  the  statutes  will 
show  that  every  year  adds  to  its  duties,  until  they  have 
become,  by  continual  aggregation,  a  complicated  mass, 
beyond  the  power  of  performance  by  any  one  man,  and 
almost  beyond  the  reach  of  his  thorough  and  intelligent 
supervision. 

"  For  twenty  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  first  con- 
stitution, the  treasurer  was  the  principal  financial  officer. 
It  became  obvious  that  he  needed  a  check,  not  more  for 
the  prevention  of  frauds  than  for  the  detection  of  errors. 
The  co-operation  of  two  officers,  and  a  double  set  of  ac- 
counts, constituted  a  dev;ce  of  great  wisdom  for  the  pub- 
lic, security ;  and  its  practical  working  has  been  so  perfect, 
that  peculations  and  frauds  in  respect  of  the  public  funds 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  115 

confided  to  the  treasury  are  unheard  of.  They  are,  in 
fact,  impossible,  without  presuming  that  rare  case  of  prof- 
ligacy, when  two  high  officers  of  state  combine,  by  mu- 
tual overtures  of  corruption,  to  violate  their  oaths  and 
their  consciences, — a  result  unknown  in  the  history  of  our 
state  government. 

"  It  is  of  little  moment  that  the  comptroller,  and  not 
the  treasurer,  is  now  by  law  the  chief  of  the  finances ; 
but  if  the  treasurer  have  duties  enough  to  occupy  his 
time  and  capacity,  it  would  seem  that  the  parallel  duties 
of  the  comptroller  should  of  themselves  be  a  sufficient 
employment  and  trust,  without  the  vast  additional  burden 
of  labor  and  responsibility  which  is  otherwise  cast  upon 
him.  To  form  an  adequate  idea  of  the  mass  of  duty  he 
has  in  charge,  it  is  necessary  not  only  to  survey  the  sum- 
mary contained  in  the  revised  code  of  our  laws,  but  to 
trace  out  the  statutes  from  year  to  year ;  to  review  the 
reports  of  his  office ;  and  to  follow  him  and  his  numer- 
ous assistants  in  the  actual  discharge  of  their  various 
labors  in  the  financial,  banking,  and  tax  bureaux  of  his 
department.  But  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  designed 
brevity  of  these  papers  to  enter  into  the  details  which 
alone  can  convey  a  suitable  notion  of  the  magnitude  and 
responsibility  of  his  trust  and  influence.  As  the  depart- 
ment is  now  organized,  it  is  overgrown  and  cumbersome ; 
and  to  perform  with  thorough  intelligence  and  conscien- 
tiousness, without  error  or  delay,  all  its  requisite  offices 
of  supervision  and  of  action,  requires  the  sight  of  Argus 
with  his  hundred  eyes,  and  the  activity  of  Briareus  with 
his  hundred  hands." 

A  higher  evidence  of  respect  for  Mr.  Wright,  and 
confidence  in  his  ability,  sagacity,  and  integrity,  could 
not  have  been  given,  than  was  exhibited  by  this  appoint- 


110  LIFE    OF   8ILAS    WEIGHT. 

ment, — a  respect  and  confidence  which  had  been  created 
during  the  short  period  he  had  been  in  public  life,  which 
was  then  but  five  years. 

Here,  then,  was  a  man,  brought  up  in  one  of  the  coun- 
try towns  of  Vermont,  whence  he  had  migrated  to  a  se- 
cluded village  in  a  county  bordering  on  the  province  of 
Canada,  placed  at  the  head  of  the  complicated  financial 
concerns  of  the  state  of  New  York,  a  state  which,  we 
will  venture  to  assert,  requires  more  skill  to  conduct  ju- 
diciously its  moneyed  and  various  fiscal  operations  than 
seme  of  the  kingdoms  of  Europe.  But  Mr.  Wright 
proved  himself  to  be  fully  competent  to  discharge  those 
high  and  important  duties. 

As  a  member  of  the  canal  board,  it  was  the  duty  of  the 
comptroller  to  advise  and  give  his  opinion  upon  the  mer-  > 
its  of  all  projected  canals ;  and  as  the  financial  officer  of 
the  state,  it  was  also  his  duty  to  inform  the  legislature  of 
the  condition  of  the  funds  of  the  state,  and  its  capacity 
of  increasing  its  expenses  and  paying  its  debts.  The  ap- 
plication for  new  canals  through  the  Genesee  valley,  along 
the  Black  river,  and  in  the  valley  of  the  Chenango,  to 
which  we  alluded  in  a  previous  chapter,*  as  having  been 
made  in  1827,  were  repeated  in  1828,  and  again  pressed 
upon  the  legislature  in  1829.  Time,  instead  of  weaken- 
ing, strengthened  the  power  and  influence  of  these  for- 
midable combinations.  The  success  of  each  was  made 
the  common  cause  of  all.  The  members  of  the  legisla- 
ture coming  from  that  part  of  the  state  which  bordered 
on  the  contemplated  route  for  the  Chenango  Canal,  were 
considerable  in  numbers,  and  most  of  them  democrats, 
and  for  that  reason  were  supposed  to  have  more  influ- 

*  See  Chapter  V. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  117 

ence  with  the  dominant  party  in  both  houses  of  the  legis- 
lature, than  those  members  who  represented  the  counties 
farther  west,  who  were  generally  whigs.  Probably  part- 
ly, if  not  solely,  on  this  account  the  Chenango  Canal  was 
made  the  pioneer  of  the  trio.  We  do  not  mention  the 
Chemung  and  Crooked  Lake  canals,  because  they  were 
mere  side-cuts,  or  arms  of  the  grand  canal,  yet  the  appli- 
cants for  these  canals  were  generally  understood  to  be 
combined  with  the  other  projectors.  For  an  account 
of  the  proceedings  in  the  legislature  in  relation  to  the 
Chenango  Canal,  we  respectfully  refer  our  readers  to  the 
second  volume  of  our  History  of  Political  Parties,  where 
we  think  we  have  given  it  so  fully  as  to  render  its  repe- 
tition on  this  occasion  unnecessary.* 

*  At  page  422,  2  Political  History,  we  have  said  that  previous  to  the 
election  of  1832,  a  distinguished  democratic  leader  visited  the  county  of 
Cheuaiigo,  and  there  gave  assurance  that  if  the  democratic  state  ticket 
should  be  well  and  faithfully  supported  in  the  valley  of  the  Chenango, 
John  Tracy  should  bo  nominated  at  the  Herkirner  convention  for  lieutenant- 
governor,  and  that  the  next  legislature  would  pass  a  law  providing  for  the 
construction  of  the  Cheuango  Canal.  From  this  statement  an  inference 
may  have  been  drawn  that  Judge  Tracy,  as  he  was  in  fact  nominated 
and  elected  lieutenant-governor,  was  a  party  to  this  arrangement,  if  suoh 
arrangement  was  actually  made.  Such  an  inference,  however,  would  be 
contrary  to  what  was  intended  by  the  author.  We  know,  and  have  long 
known  Mr.  Tracy,  not  only  as  a  man  of  high  honor  and  integrity,  but  as 
a  man  possessing  great  delicacy  of  feeling,  and  are  therefore  sure  he  had 
no  agency  in  the  matter.  Neither  Judge  Tracy  nor  any  of  his  friends 
have  ever  brought  this  matter  to  our  notice,  but  we  seize  this  occasion  t« 
declare  what  were  our  intentions  at  the  time  we  wrote,  being,  upon  a  care- 
ful examination  of  it,  apprehensive  that  those  who  are  strangers  to  Mr.  T. 
might  draw  an  inference  from  it  which  would  be  unjust  to  the  character 
for  purity  and  delicacy  which  he  has  always,  as  we  believe,  deservedly 
maintained.  J.  D.  II. 

Upon  further  inquiry,  since  writing  the  above  note,  the  author  h;is  re- 
ceived assurances  from  a  source  perfectly  reliable,  the  correctness  of  which 


118  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

Notwithstanding  the  severe  pressure  brought  on  Mr. 
Wright  by  the  union  of  these  great  interests,  he  held  with 
unshaken  firmness  to  the  grounds  taken  by  him  in  the 
senate  in  1827,  and  to  the  doctrines  put  forth  in  his  report 
on  the  petition  of  David  E.  Evans.  And  in  all  his  official 
communications  to  the  legislature,  and  in  his  action  as  a 
member  of  the  canal  board,  he  maintained  the  same  prin- 
ciples as  are  contained  in  that  report.  In  the  canal 
board  these  principles  were  also  sustained  by  Col.  Young, 
(who  had  early  avowed  them,)  and  we  believe  by  a  ma- 
jority of  the  board. 

We  have  before  stated,  that  although  Mr.  Wright  was, 
in  the  fall  of  1828,  elected  a  member  of  congress,  the 
certificate  of  election  was  given  to  his  opponent,  Mr. 
Fisher,  in  consequence  of  some  informality  in  the  returns 
of  the  returning  officers.  Mr.  Fisher  therefore  took  his 
seat  as  a  member  of  the  twenty-first  congress.  Mr. 
Wright,  it  is  true,  had  accepted  the  office  of  comptroller, 
and  therefore  could  not,  with  propriety,  retain  his  seat  as 
a  member  of  congress ;  but  believing  that  from  the  result 
of  the  election  in  his  district,  the  expressed  wishes  of  a 
majority  of  the  electors  of  the  district  would  be  defeated 
should  Mr.  Fisher  continue  to  occupy  the  seat,  he  for- 
warded a  petition  to  the  house  of  representatives,  claim- 
ing the  seat  in  preference  to  Mr.  Fisher.  The  question 
was  decided  without  delay  in  favor  of  granting  the  peti- 
tion, we  believe  with  the  approbation  of  Mr.  Fisher  him- 
self, and  as  soon  as  that  decision  was  made,  Mr.  Wright 
resigned. 


he  does  not  doubt,  that  the  selection  of  Judge  Tracy,  as  the  nominee  for 
lieutenant-governor,  was  in  no  respect  whatever  connected  with  the  Che- 
naiigo  Canal  project 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WEIGHT.  119 

The  annual  report  of  the  comptroller  for  the  year 
1829  was  made  by  Mr.  Marcy,  while  he  held  that 
office.  The  first  annual  report  of  Mr.  Wright  was 
communicated  to  the  legislature  in  January,  1830.  It 
was  an  able  state  paper,  and  on  examining  it  one  will 
be  astonished  at  the  peculiar  talent  of  its  author,  in  pre- 
senting in  a  clear  manner  the  character  and  amount  of 
the  various  funds  of  the  state,  (we  wish  there  were  not 
so  many  of  them,  because  we  think  their  variety  tends  to 
confusion  and  mystery,)  and  in  simplifying  the  most  com- 
plicated, and  rendering  lucid  the  most  abstruse  financial 
matters. 

The  comptroller,  on  this  occasion,  stated  that  the  gen- 
eral fund,  which  originally  amounted  to  more  than  four 
millions  of  dollars,  was  then  reduced  to  $  1,344,268.65, 
and  was  in  a  condition  of  rapid  consumption.  The  fund 
called  the  general  fund  was  mainly  formed  during  the  ad- 
ministration of  George  Clinton,  from  the  avails  of  sales  of 
the  public  lands  in  1791.*  Other  moneys  belonging  to 
the  state  were  also  thrown  into  this  fund,  until  it  acquired 
the  magnitude  stated  by  Mr.  Wright.  In  earlier,  and,  as 
an  old  man  we  may  be  permitted  to  say,  happier  and 
purer  days,  when  the  current  expenses  of  the  state  gov- 
ernment were  vastly  less  than  when  Mr.  Wright  made 
the  report  in  question,  the  surplus  of  the  income  over 
and  above  the  state  expenditures,  was  annually  invested 
and  added  to  the  original  fund ;  and  had  this  course 
been  continued,  its  income  would  have  been  sufficient 
to  have  paid  the  current  expenses  of  government, 
not  only  down  to  the  present  time,  but  for  an  in- 
definite period  hereafter.  But  that  course  was  not  pur- 


»  See  1  Political  History,  p.  57,  &c. 


120  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

sued,  and  depredations  were  from  year  to  year  made  on 
the  capital  of  that  fund  for  various  purposes,  until  it  has 
become  nearly,  if  not  quite,  insolvent.  The  state,  how- 
ever, is  rich  in  its  common-school  and  literary  funds, 
and  its  immense  capital  vested  in  canals.  But  we  hasten 
to  make  the  remark  which  we  intended  when  we  com- 
menced this  paragraph,  which  has  been  extended  to  a 
length  we  did  not  anticipate. 

All  the  comptrollers,  from  the  time  of  Samuel  Jones, 
the  first  comptroller,  seem  to  have  felt  an  anxious  and 
almost  parental  solicitude  for  the  preservation  of  the  gen- 
eral fund.  This  feeling  is  strongly  manifested  by  Mr. 
Wright.  And  in  truth  there  is  much  reason  for  it ;  it  is 
money  handed  down  to  us  from  our  forefathers — a  sort 
of  legacy  in  which  every  son  and  daughter  of  the  state 
has  an  interest.  So  long  as  the  income  from  that  fund 
was  sufficient  to  pay  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  gov- 
ernment, we  were  free  from  taxes  ;  and  for  extraordinary 
expenses,  the  old  policy  was,  not  to  permit  the  state  to 
incur  any  expense,  without  at  the  same  time  laying  a 
tax  sufficient  to  meet  it  when  incurred,  or  a  short  time 
afterwards. 

Mr.  Wright  states  the  canal  debt  at  that  time  at 
$7,706,013.  The  income  arising  from  tolls  and  auc- 
tion and  salt  duties,  was  much  more  than  sufficient  to 
pay  the  interest  on  the  canal  debt,  and  the  surplus, 
after  the  payment  of  the  interest,  was  solemnly  pledged 
by  the  constitution  for  the  payment  of  the  principal  as  it 
should  from  time  to  time  become  due.  Mr.  Wright 
showed  most  clearly,  that  the  income  arising  from  the 
general  fund,  and  from  all  other  sources  which  could  le 
gaily  be  made  available  by  the  state,  would  fail  of  defray- 
ing the  expenses  of  the  state  for  the  ensuing  year  to  an 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  121 

amount  of  more  than  seventy  thousand  dollars.  He 
therefore  had  the  firmness  to  do  that  which  is  always  dis- 
agreeable and  unpopular,  which  was,  to  recommend  a  tax 
of  one  mill  on  the  dollar  on  all  personal  and  real  estate, 
the  avails  of  which  should  be  applied  to  supply  the  defi- 
ciency in  the  income  of  the  general  fund,  and  the  balance 
to  be  employed  in  reimbursing  that  fund  the  portion  of 
its  capital  which  had  been  abstracted  from  it. 

"  That  some  measures,"  says  the  comptroller,  "  should 
be  taken  by  the  legislature  to  meet  the  claims  upon  the 
treasury  without  incurring  a  public  debt  for  that  purpose, 
the  comptroller  cannot  doubt.  And  that  the  true  inter- 
est of  the  state  would  be  consulted  by  adopting  such  pro- 
visions as  would  preserve  the  remainder  of  the  capital  of 
the  general  fund,  and  as  might  tend  to  restore  that  fund 
to  an  ability  to  meet  the  now  reduced  ordinary  expenses 
of  the  government,  he  can  as  little  doubt." 

Again,  speaking  of  the  general  fund,  he  says  : — "  But 
now  to  suffer  that  fund  to  be  entirely  consumed,  or  to 
neglect  to  sustain,  or  even  to  invigorate  or  restore  it, 
would  seem  to  be  a  reflection  upon  the  policy  which  has 
hitherto  protected  and  preserved  it,  and  that  too  by  taxa- 
tion when  it  was  necessary."  *  *  *  "  A  tax  of  one 
mill  on  the  dollar  on  the  valuation  of  real  and  personal 
estate,  within  the  state,  will,  in  the  opinion  of  the  comp- 
troller, not  only  supply  the  existing  deficiency  in  the  rev- 
enue, and  arrest  the  further  decline  of  this  fund  after  the 
present  year,  but  will  also  contribute  something  to  its  re- 
suscitation. He  therefore  recommends  to  the  legislature 
the  imposition  of  such  tax." 

The  legislature  did  not  adopt  the  recommendation. 

The  reader  ought  to  have  been  reminded  that  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  who  in  November,  1828,  was  elected  governor. 


122  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

was,  in  the  early  part  of  March,  1829,  appointed  by  Gen. 
Jackson,  secretary  of  state  of  the  United  States,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  the  executive  government  of  the  state 
of  New  York  devolved  on  Mr.  Throop,  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  who  continued  to  act  as  governor  to  the  end  of 
the  gubernatorial  term.  Previous  to  the  election  in  No- 
vember, 1830,  a  state  convention  was  held  at  Herkimer, 
for  the  nomination  of  state  officers.  Mr.  Wright  attend- 
ed that  convention  as  a  delegate,  from  the  county  of  Al- 
bany. Mr.  Throop,  in  his  communication  to  the  legisla- 
ture, had  sustained  and  advocated  the  same  principles  in 
relation  to  the  extension  of  internal  improvements,  and 
the  increase  of  the  public  debt,  as  had  been  put  forth  by 
Mr.  Wright  in  his  report  on  the  petition  of  David  E- 
Evans,  and  others,  and  in  his  report  as  comptroller,  to  the  , 
legislature.  This  produced  some  opposition  to  him  from 
the  delegates  from  the  valley  of  the  Chenango,  and  from 
the  Genesee  Valley. 

There  was  also  another  class  of  men,  known  by  the 
name  of  the  "  workingmen's  party,"  of  whom  Gen.  Root 
was  a  favorite,  and  who,  at  a  popular  meeting  at  Albany, 
had  nominated  him  for  governor.  These  circumstances, 
connected  with  the  partial  feelings  of  some  of  Gen. 
Root's  old  democratic  friends,  induced  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  convention  to  support  the  nomination  of 
Gen.  Root ;  but  Mr.  Wright,  and  finally  a  majority  of 
the  convention,  supported  Mr.  Throop.  and  he  was  nom- 
inated and  elected. 

Mr.  Wright,  in  his  annual  reports  as  comptroller,  in 
1831  and  1832,  took  the  same  ground  as  he  did  in  1830, 
and  repeated  his  recommendation  of  a  state  tax.  The 
governor  also,  in  his  annual  message,  reiterated  the  rec- 
ommendation. A  bill  was  brought  into  the  senate  in 


LIFE    OF   SILAS    WRIGHT.  123 

pursuance  of  these  recommendations,  but  it  was  contend- 
ed by  the  friends  of  the  construction  of  the  projected  ca- 
nals, that  before  the  general  fund  could  be  exhausted, 
there  would  be  a  sufficient  surplus  revenue  from  the  ca- 
nals, after  paying  all  the  costs  of  their  construction,  to 
defray  the  ordinary  expenses  of  government,  which  would 
be  a  fair  substitute  for  the  income  which  could  be  antici- 
pated from  the  general  fund.  We  recollect  of  hearing  a 
very  able  and  eloquent  speech,  delivered  by  the  lamented 
Maynard,  a  senator  from  Oneida  county,  in  support  of 
this  position,  in  which  he,  with  great  skill  and  address, 
insinuated  that  this  project  of  taxation  had  been  brought 
forward  merely  as  a  bugbear  to  frighten  those  who  were 
in  favor  of  providing  for  the  construction  of  the  Chenan- 
go  and  other  projected  canals.* 

The  course  which  Mr.  Wright  deemed  'it  his  duty  to 
pursue  in  relation  to  the  Chenango  Canal,  produced  some 
feeling  against  him  on  the  part  of  his  political  friends  who 
advocated  that  measure  ;  but  such  was  the  unshaken  con- 
fidence reposed  in  him,  that  in  1832,  when  the  term  of 
his  office  expired,  the  opposition  to  his  re-election  was 
very  feeble,  and  he  was  again  nominated  by  a  large 
majority  of  the  democratic  members,  and  chosen  comp- 
troller by  the  legislature.  Such  was  his  quiet  and  peace- 
ful deportment,  that  his  influence  in  matters  in  which  his 
political  friends  or  the  public  were  concerned,  was  less 
exhibited  than  felt. 

While  he  resided  in  Albany,  which  then  was,  and  for  a 
long  time  before  and  since  has  been,  the  focus  of  political 
excitement,  and  where  the  contest  for  place,  for  office, 
and  power,  is  always  fierce,  and  naturally  calls  into  action 

•  The  bill  failed  of  becoming  a  law. 


124  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

the  efforts  of  all  men  who  are  supposed  to  have  any  in- 
fluence, his  cautious  and  retiring  habits  enabled  him  to 
retain  his  natural  calmness  amidst  the  whirlwinds  and 
storms  and  war  of  the  political  elements  which  raged 
around  him.  We  then  resided  in  Albany,  and  although 
we  did  not  belong  to  tb.e  political  party  to  which  Mr. 
Wright  was  attached,  we  recollect  that  an  active  polit- 
ical friend  of  his,  (Mr.  Livingston,  long  a  clerk  and  once 
a  speaker  of  the  assembly,)  with  whom  we  were  on  terms 
of  personal  intimacy,  frequently  complained  to  us  that  he 
could  never  induce  Mr.  Wright  to  take  any  part  in  the 
contests  between  competitors  for  office.  This  cautious 
conduct  on  his  part  did  not  arise,  as  we  believe,  from 
policy,  or  a  desire  to  avoid  responsibility,  but  from  the 
innate  kindness  of  his  nature,  and  his  unwillingness  to 
wound  the  feelings  of  any.  On  questions  involving  prin- 
ciple, he  was  firm  and  immoveable.  He  in  truth  and 
spirit  conscientiously  adhered  to  the  maxim  so  often  re- 
peated and  so  little  practised,  "  measures — not  men." 

But  the  time  had  now  arrived  when  Mr.  Wright  was 
to  be  removed  from  the  political  whirlpool  at  Albany.  In 
November,  1832,  Mr.  Marcy  was  elected  governor  of  the 
state  of  New  York,  (Mr.  Throop  having  declined  a  re- 
election,) and  Mr.  Wright,  early  in  the  session  of  1833, 
was  chosen  by  the  legislature  as  his  successor  in  the  sen- 
ate of  the  United  States. 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  125 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Senate  of  the  United  States — Mr.  Gillet's  contemplated  Work — -Ml. 
Wright's  vote  on  the  Force  Bill  and  the  Compromise  Bill — He  opposes 
Mr.  Clay's  Land  Bill — Gen.  Jackson's  conduct  in  relation  to  the  Land 
Bill — Marriage  of  Mr.  Wright— Removal  ofirthe  Deposites  from  the  Bank 
of  the  United  States— Mr.  Clay's  Resolution,  and  Mr.  Wright's  Speech 
thereon — His  Speech  on  Mr.  Webster's  motion  to  Recharter  the  United 
States  Bank— Session  of  1834-5— Mr.  Wright  elected  a  member  of  the 
Committees  on  Finance  and  Commerce — His  Speech  on  the  last  day  of 
the  Session— Mr.  Van  Buren  elected  Vice-President—Mr.  Wright  is  a 
Member  of  the  Baltimore  Convention  at  the  Nomination  of  Van  Buren 
for  President— Mr.  Wright's  conduct  in  the  Senate  in  relation  to  the 
Anti-slavery  movements— Bill  for  the  Distribution  of  the  Surplus  Funds 
— Specie  Circular— Mr.  Wright  elected  Chairman  of  the  Finance  Com- 
mittee—In 1837,  re-elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  by  the  New 
York  Legislature. 

ON  the  14th  of  January,  1833,  Mr.  Wright  took  his 
seat  as  a  member  of  the  senate  of  the  United  States. 
There  is  no  department  of  the  government  of  this  coun- 
try which  challenges  more  veneration  than  the  United 
States  senate  ;  nor  is  there,  as  we  believe,  any  political 
body  on  earth  which  deserves  it  better.  It  is,  from  the 
manner  of  its  creation,  calculated  to  draw  into  it  the 
most  talented  and  most  patriotic  men  in  the  nation.  The 
senators  are  elected,  not  by  the  masses,  but  by  men  cho- 
sen from  the  masses  ;  they  are  the  representatives  of  in- 
dependent states,  and  in  that  respect  resemble  diplomatic 
agents  and  ambassadors.  The  duration  of  the  office  of 
senator  is  longer  than  that  of  any  other  elective  office  in 
the  nation.  The  senate  has  equal  or  nearly  equal  power, 


126  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

in  the  passage  of  all  laws,  with  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, a  much  more  numerous  body  coming  directly  from 
the  people.  It  holds  a  veto  on  the  power  of  the  presi- 
dent in  the  distribution  of  all  the  national  patronage,  and 
even  a  comparatively  small  minority  of  the  senate  can 
overrule  the  executive  in  any  treaty  he  may  negotiate. 

Probably  the  familiar  acquaintance  which  those  who 
formed  the  constitution  had  with  the  machinery  of  the 
British  government,  in  which  the  house  of  lords  forms  a 
part  of  the  legislative  power,  induced  in  their  minds  a 
train  of  thought  which  led  to  the  provision  for  the  for- 
mation of  our  senate,  as  it  bears  some  resemblance  to 
that  department  of  the  English  government.  The  senate 
also  bears  a  remote  resemblance  to  the  diet  of  Germany. 
But  the  senate  of  the  United  States  is  far  better  calcula- 
ted to  draw  into  it  talent,  private  virtue,  and  individual 
patriotism,  than  either  the  one  or  the  other  of  the  bodies 
just  mentioned.  In  the  house  of  lords,  as  well  as  in  the 
diet,  the  right  of  membership  is  hereditary.  Nothing  can 
be  more  absurd  than  the  recognising  of  an  hereditary  right 
to  legislate.  You  might  as  well  contend  that  the  art  of 
watch-making,  or  ship-building,  could  descend  from  father 
to  son,  as  that  the  ability  and  knowledge  requisite  for 
making  wise  and  good  laws,  should  pass  from  the  ances- 
tor to  the  eldest  male  descendant.  Hence,  on  entering 
the  lobby  of  the  house  of  lords  in  England,  you  may  see 
grouped  together,  with  power  to  legislate  for  that  great 
empire,  men  rendered'  decrepit  and  imbecile  by  age,  dis- 
solute and  reckless  boys  of  twenty-one,  men  booted  and 
spurred,  ready  for  a  fox-chase  or  a  horse-race,  gay  lotha- 
rios,  and  ruined  gamblers.  But  the  senate  of  the  United 
States  presents  an  aspect  entirely  different.  It  is,  and  we 
trust  will  continue  to  be,  composed  of  men  of  ripe  years, 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  127 

whose  age  and  experience  have  taught  them  caution,  and 
admonished  them  to  deliberate  before  they  act,  and  yet 
possessing  their  intellectual  power  in  its  full  vigor, — men 
inured  to  habits  of  business  and  mental  labor,  and  who, 
from  the  duration  of  their  offices  and  the  intelligence  of 
their  constituency,  can  have  little  temptation  to  pamper 
the  evanescent  prejudices  which  for  the  time  being  may 
happen  to  exist,  or  to  court  the  momentary  applause  of 
a  class  that  always  has  existed,  and  always  will  exist  in 
every  country,  who  not  unfrequently  cry  "  Hosanna  to- 
day, and  crucify  to-morrow." 

Into  a  body  thus  organized,  Silas  Wright  entered  in 
the  thirty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  The  American  senate 
was  at  that  time  composed  of  men  as  eminent  as  this 
or  any  other  country  ever  produced.  There  was  the 
ardent,  eloquent,  and  chivalrous  Henry  Clay ;  there 
were  Calhoun,  Webster,  Benton,  and  White  of  Ten- 
nessee ;  there  was  Rives  of  Virginia ;  and  there  too 
was  the  impetuous,  but  polished  and  courteous  Pres- 
ton ;  and  a  host  of  others,  distinguished  for  their  long 
experience,  their  skill  and  tact  in  forensic  debates,  and 
their  learning  and  talents.  What  must  have  been  the 
anxious  feelings — what  the  throbbings  of  the  heart  of  the 
modest  graduate  of  Middlebury  College !  But  a  truly  great 
mind,  though  imbued  with  modesty,  and  sometimes  de- 
pressed by  diffidence,  is  always  secretly  conscious  of  its 
own  powers.  Mr.  Wright  did  not  despond — he  did  not 
despair  of  acquiring  a  respectable  standing  even  in  that 
august  body :  like  the  gallant  military  officer,  who, 
when  the  commanding  general  inquired  if  he  could 
take  a  strong  fort  by  storm,  replied,  "  General,  I  will 
try,"  and  did  try,  and  succeeded — so  also  did  Mr.  Wright 
"  try,"  and  triumphed. 


128  LIFE  OP  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

We  shall  not  attempt  to  follow  Mr.  Wright  minutely 
through  his  senatorial  labors  ;  we  are  satisfied,  if  we  were 
to  attempt  it,  so  long  time  has  elapsed  since  they  were 
performed,  and  so  great  was  the  distance  we  were  from  the 
scene  of  action,  that  we  should  in  all  likelihood  do  injus- 
tice to  the  subject  of  these  memoirs.  The  journals  of  a 
legislative  body  and  the  public  newspapers  (the  only 
sources  from  which  we  could  hope  to  obtain  infor- 
mation) furnish  but  a  meager  and  sometimes  an  in- 
correct account  of  the  labors  of  the  legislator  and  states- 
man. We  feel  confirmed  in  the  propriety  of  this  course 
from  the  fact,  that  we  are  well  assured  that  Mr.  Ransom 
H.  Gillet,  who  is  now,  and  for  some  time  past  has  been 
stationed  at  Washington  as  solicitor  of  the  United  States 
treasury,  is  now  employed,  so  far  as  his  official  duties 
will  permit,  in  compiling  for  publication  the  speeches  de- 
livered by  Mr.  Wright,  and  the  reports  and  other  official 
documents  which  emanated  from  him.  Mr.  Gillet  was  a 
member  of  congress  for  some  time  while  Mr.  Wright  was 
in  the  senate,  and  was  a  citi2en  of  St.  Lawrence,  and 
long  and  intimately  acquainted  with  Mr.  W.,  and  highly 
esteemed  by  him.  All  who  know  Mr.  Gillet  know  him 
as  a  man  of  talents,  candor,  and  integrity.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  his  book  will  contain  much  interesting 
political  information,  and  will  be  a  valuable  contribution 
to  the  literature  of  the  country. 

We  will  merely  remark  that  the  first  session  of  the 
twenty-second  congress  was  one  of  deep  and  thrilling 
interest. 

During  the  preceding  year  the  nullification  doctrines 
of  Mr.  Calhoun  had  been  pushed  to  an  alarming  extent 
in  South  Carolina,  and  finally  elicited  the  celebrated 
proclamation  of  Gen.  Jackson.  This  proclamation  led 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  129 

to  the  passage  of  what  was  called  the  Force  Bill,  for 
which  Mr.  Wright  voted. 

Another  highly  important  measure  which  came  before 
the  senate  soon  after  Mr.  Wright  became  a  member  was 
the  compromise  bill,  introduced  and  probably  devised  by 
Mr.  Clay.  To  some  of  the  details  of  this  bill  Mr.  Wright 
was  opposed,  but  in  the  end  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  vote 
for  it  on  its  final  passage.  Before  giving  his  vote,  how- 
ever, he  is  reported  by  Mr.  Niles,  in  his  Register,  to  have 
stated  briefly  that  "  his  strongest  objection  to  the  bill  was, 
that  it  endeavors  to  bind  the  action  of  future  congresses. 
He  considered  this  as  a  provision  which  was  puerile  in 
itself,  and  one  which  would  never  be  considered  as 
binding.  He  then  vie  wed  the  circumstances  under  which 
congress  was  called  upon  to  act  on  this  bill,  imperfect  as 
it  is.  He  knew  that  he  should  be  charged  with  legisla- 
ting under  the  influence  of  his  fears.  He  could  not 
suffer  his  fears  to  govern  his  conclusions.  But  he  would 
not  disregard  them.  There  had  been  a  deep  and  settled 
discontent  in  a  certain  portion  of  the  country  against 
our  legislation,  and  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  regard 
that  discontent  lightly. 

"  Under  the  expression  of  that  feeling,  congress  had 
done  what,  if  they  had  not  done,  would  have  left  the 
Union  dissolved.  The  operation  of  that  discontent  was 
against  the  whole  body  of  laws  for  the  collection  of  the 
revenue ;  and  would,  if  carried  on,  have  destroyed  all 
the  means  of  the  government,  and  without  the  purse,  no 
government  could  exist.  He  had,  therefore,  come  to  the 
question,  deeply  impressed  with  the  conviction,  that  it 
was  his  duty  to  give  his  vote  to  prevent  such  an  evil. 
He  had  been  long  of  the  opinion  that  the  revenue  ought 
to  be  reduced.  He  had  also  been  long  impressed  with  a 
9 


130  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

sense  of  the  inequality  of  the  tariff  system.  No  one  had 
questioned  the  principle  on  which  this  bill  was  founded ; 
it  was  only  in  reference  to  the  details  that  difference  of 
opinion  existed.  A  part  of  the  country  is  deeply  exci- 
ted, deeply  exasperated ;  by  what  means,  it  was  not  for 
him  to  inquire ;  but  the  condition  of  things  was  such  as 
to  render  it  uncertain  whether  the  Union  can  exist  even 
until  the  month  of  December,  unless  something  shall  be 
done." 

The  only  other  great  measure  which  occupied  the  at- 
tention^ congress,  during  this  session,  was  a  bill  brought 
forward  by  Mr.  Clay  for  the  distribution  of  the  avails  of 
the  sales  of  the  public  lands  among  the  several  states. 
This  bill  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Wright,  but  it  passed  both 
houses  of  congress,  by  large  majorities  in  each  house. 
Congress,  by  the  constitution,  became  defunct  on  the  4th 
day  of  March.  The  bill  was  not  sent  to  the  president 
until  within  less  than  ten  days  previous  to  that  day ;  and 
Gen.  Jackson  retained  it  until  the  meeting  of  the  next 
congress,  and  then  vetoed  it. 

It  has  been  said  that  if  Gen.  Jackson  had  returned  the 
bill  with  his  veto  to  the  twenty-second  congress,  both 
houses  of  that  congress  would  have  passed  it  by  two- 
thirds  majority.  We  doubt  the  fact ;  but  if  the  allega- 
tion was  true,  and  Gen.  Jackson  knew  it,  and  on  that 
account  neglected  and  refused  to  return  the  bill  to  the 
twenty-second  congress,  he  certainly  evaded  and  virtu- 
ally violated  an  important  article  of  the  constitution. 

On  the  llth  of  September,  1833,  Mr.  Wright  was 
married  to  Miss  Clarissa  Moody,  by  his  old  friend  and 
classmate,  the  Rev.  Henry  S.  Johnson,  whom  we  have 
several  times  mentioned.  There  is  something  interest- 
ing in  this  connection,  independent  of  the  tender  affection 


LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT.  131 

which  existed  between  Mr.  Wright  and  his  bride.  Miss 
Moody  was  the  daughter  of  the  friend  of  his  father,  the 
patron  and  friend  of  Mr.  Wright.  He  had  been  an 
inmate  in  the  house  of  that  friend  for  fourteen  years ; 
he  came  there  solitary,  poor,  and  a  stranger ;  he  was  now 
a  senator  of  the  United  States  ; — but  this  change  in  his 
situation  did  not  weaken  his  partiality  for  the  object 
of  his  affection ;  it  did  not  diminish  his  regard  for  the 
friend  of  his  father,  nor  his  gratitude  to  the  man  who 
had  aided  him  in  time  of  need,  nor  did  it  cool  the  ardor 
of  his  friendship  for  the  companion  of  his  boyhood  and 
his  youthful  studies.  It  has  been  said,  and  no  doubt  truly, 
that  an  unkind  word,  or  even  look,  never  passed  between 
Mr.  Wright  and  his  wife. 

By  the  law  passed  in  1816  incorporating  the  United 
States  banking  company,  the  national  revenue  was  re- 
quired to  be  deposited  in  the  Bank  of  the  United  States ; 
but  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  was  authorized  to  re- 
move such  deposites  whenever  he  should  deem  them 
unsafe  in  that  bank. 

In  the  summer  of  1833,  Gen.  Jackson,  believing,  as  he 
alleged,  that  the  revenue  was  unsafe  in  the  keeping  of  the 
United  States  Bank,  requested  Mr.  Duane,  then  secreta- 
ry of  the  treasury,  to  direct  the  deposites  of  the  national 
revenue  to  be  removed.  This  the  secretary  declined 
doing,  whereupon  the  president  removed  him,  and  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Taney,  then  attorney-general,  in  his  place, 
who,  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  president, 
removed  the  deposites.  It  is  no  part  of  our  business 
to  justify  or  condemn  these  measures ;  our  duty  is  dis- 
charged when  we  state  the  facts  as  they  transpired,  and 
we  now  merely  remark  that  these  acts  of  the  national 
executive  produced  moth  excitement  throughout  the 


132  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

country,  and  especially  in  the  northern  and  middle  states. 
They  complained  that  the  removal  of  Mr.  Duane,  be- 
cause he  declined,  contrary  to  his  own  opinion,  to  transfer 
the  funds  of  the  nation  from  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States  to  the  vaults  of  the  banks  chartered  by  the  re- 
spective states,  was  an  unwarrantable  exercise  of  power, 
in  violation  of  the  law  chartering  the  bank,  and  at  war 
with  the  genius  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States. 
The  members  of  the  twenty-third  congress  therefore  as- 
sembled, in  December,  1833,  under  feelings  of  great  ex- 
citement. Early  in  the  session,  Mr.  Clay  introduced  the 
following  resolution : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  president,  in  the  late  executive 
proceedings  in  relation  to  the  public  revenue,  has  assumed 
upon  himself  an  authority  and  power  not  conferred  by 
the  constitution  and  laws,  but  in  derogation  of  both." 

This  resolution  produced  a  debate  which  lasted  several 
days,  and  nearly  all  the  prominent  members  of  the  senate 
spoke  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Wright,  who  was  an  ardent, 
and  we  have  no  doubt  an  honest  supporter  of  Gen.  Jack- 
son's administration,  opposed  the  resolution  in  a  speech 
which  afforded  decisive  evidence  of  great  ingenuity,  and 
talents  of  a  high  order.  He  urged,  with  great  plausibil- 
ity, that  if  the  allegation  made  in  the  resolution  was  cor- 
rect and  true,  the  president  ought  to  be  impeached ;  that 
on  the  impeachment  the  senate  would  be,  by  the  constitu- 
tion, his  judges ;  and  that  to  adopt  the  resolution  would  be 
to  prejudge  a  question  which  would  of  necessity  come  be- 
fore them  as  members  of  the  high  court  of  impeachment. 
He  further  insisted  that  the  facts  of  the  case  did  not 
support  the  resolution.  He  concluded  his  argumentative 
and  able  speech  by  the  following  eloquent  appeal  to  the 
feelings  of  the  senators :  • 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  133 

"  Who,  sir,  is  the  man,  the  citizen  of  our  republic,  upon 
whom  we  are  about  to  pronounce  our  high  censures  ?  Is 
it  Andrew  Jackson  ?  Is  it  that  Andrew  Jackson,  who, 
in  his  boyhood,  was  found  in  the  blood-stained  fields  of 
the  Revolution  ?  who  came  out  from  that  struggle  the 
last  living  member  of  his  family  ?  who,  when  the  sound 
to  arms  again  called  our  citizens  around  the  flag  of  our 
country,  posted  himself  upon  the  defenceless  frontiers  of  the 
South  and  West,  and  bared  his  own  bosom  to  the  toma- 
hawks and  scalping-knives  sharpened  for  the  blood  of  un- 
protected women  and  children  ?  who  turned  back  from 
the  city  of  the  West,  the  confident  advance  of  a  ruthless, 
and  until  then,  an  unsubdued  enemy,  and  closed  the  sec- 
ond war  against  American  liberty  in  a  blaze  of  glory, 
which  time  will  not  extinguish  ?  who,  when  peace  was 
restored  to  his  beloved  country,  turned  his  spear  into  a 
pruning- hook,  and  retired  to  the  Hermitage,  until  the 
spontaneous  voice  of  his  fellow-citizens  called  him  forth 
to  receive  their  highest  honors,  and  to  become  the  guar- 
dian of  their  most  sacred  trust  ?  Is  this  the  man  who  is 
to  be  condemned  without  a  trial  ?  who  is  not  entitled 
to  the  privilege  allowed  him  by  the  constitution  of  his 
country  ?  Sir,  this  surely  should  not  be  so.  For  the 
very  act  which  saved  a  city  from  pillage  and  destruction, 
and  the  soil  of  his  country  from  the  tread  of  an  invading 
enemy,  this  individual  was  accused  of  a  violation  of  the 
constitution  and  laws  of  his  country.  For  the  very  act 
which  entitled  him  to  the  proud  appellation  of  '  the  great- 
est captain  of  the  age,'  he  was  convicted  and  condemned 
as  a  criminal.  But,  Mr.  President,  he  was  not  then  de- 
nied a  trial.  Then  he  was  permitted  to  face  his  accusers, 
to  hear  the  charges  preferred  against  him,  to  offer  his  de- 
fence, and  to  be  present  at  his  sentence.  In  gratitude  for 


134  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

these  privileges  of  a  freeman,  he  stayed  back  with  his 
own  arm  the  advancing  wave  of  popular  indignation, 
while  he  bowed  his  whitened  locks  to  the  sentence  of  the 
law,  and  paid  the  penalty  imposed  upon  him  for  having 
saved  and  honored  his  country. 

"  Grant  to  him,  I  beseech  you,  Mr.  President — I  be- 
seech the  senate,  grant  to  that  old  man  the  privilege  of  a 
trial  now.  Condemn  him  not  unheard,  and  without  the 
pretence  of  a  constitutional  accusation.  His  rivalships 
are  ended.  He  asks  no  more  of  worldly  honors.  '  He 
has  done  the  state  some  service.'  Age  has  crept  upon 
him  now,  and  he  approaches  the  grave.  Let  him  enjoy, 
during  the  short  remainder  of  his  stay  upon  earth,  the 
right  secured  to  him  by  the  constitution  he  has  so  often 
and  so  gallantly  defended  ;  and  if,  indeed,  he  be  criminal, 
let  his  conviction  precede  his  sentence." 

The  resolution,  nevertheless,  passed  the  senate,  but 
failed  of  obtaining  a  majority  in  the  house  of  representa- 
tives. 

About  the  same  time,  Mr.  Webster  made  a  motion  for 
leave  to  introduce  a  bill  rechartering  the  United  States 
Bank  for  a  limited  time.  Against  that  motion  Mr. 
Wright  made  another  able  speech,  in  which,  among  other 
things,  he  said  : — 

"  I  cannot,  then,  be  mistaken  when  I  say,  that  if  the 
Bank  of  the  United  States  would  cease  its  efforts  for,  and 
its  hopes  of,  a  re-existence,  and  would  endeavor  to  per- 
form its  duty  to  the  country,  by  closing  its  affairs  with  as 
little  injury  as  possible  to  any  individual  or  public  inter- 
est, the  state  banks  would  be  able  to  extend  their  loans, 
confidence  would  be  restored,  and  the  pressure  upon  the 
money-market  would  soon  cease.  Apprehension, — a  just 
apprehension  of  the  hostile  movements  of  this  great  institu- 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  135 

tion, — is  the  most  powerful  cause  of  the  present  scarcity 
of  money.  This  scarcity  must  «xist  so  long  as  this  ap- 
prehension continues.  How,  then,  is  it  to  be  allayed  ? 
would  seem  to  be  the  pertinent  inquiry.  The  honorable 
senator  from  Massachusetts  answers  us  by  the  bill  upon 
your  table.  Recharter  the  bank ;  appease  the  monster 
by  prolonging  its  existence,  and  increasing  its  power.  I 
say,  no,  sir ;  but  act  promptly  and  refuse  its  wish :  de- 
stroy its  hope  of  a  recharter,  and  you  destroy  its  induce- 
ment to  be  hostile  to  the  state  institutions.  A  different 
interest — the  interest  of  its  stockholders — to  wind  up  its 
affairs  as  profitably  to  themselves  as  possible,  becomes  its 
ruling  object,  and  will  direct  its  policy.  The  more  pros- 
perous the  country,  the  more  plenty  the  money  of  other 
institutions,  the  more  easily  and  safely  can  this  object  be 
accomplished  ;  and  every  hope  of  a  continued  existence 
being  destroyed,  that  this  will  be  the  object  of  the  bank 
is  as  certain  as  that  its  moneyed  interest  governs  a  mo- 
neyed incorporation.  Mr.  President,  this  is  unquestion- 
ably the  opinion  of  the  country.  Look,  sir,  at  the  files  of 
memorials  upon  your  table,  and  'however  widely  they 
may  differ  as  to  their  views  of  the  bank,  they  all  hold  to 
you  this  language,  '  act  speedily,  and  finally  settle  the 
question.' 

"  But  we  are  told,  sir,  that  the  country  cannot  sustain 
the  winding  up  of  the  affairs  of  the  bank.  Is  this  so  ? 
What  does  experience  teach  us  upon  this  subject  ?  The 
old  Bank  of  the  United  States,  within  four  months  of  the 
close  of  its  charter,  was  more  extended  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  of  its  capital,  than  the  present  bank  is  at  this 
moment,  and  still  it  is  almost  two  years  to  the  close  of  its 
charter.  The  old  bank  struggled  as  this  does  for  a  re- 
existence  ;  the  country  was  then  alnrmed ;  memorials  in 


136 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 


favor  of  the  bank  were  then,  as  now,  piled  upon  the  ta- 
bles of  the  members  of  congress ;  the  cries  of  distress 
rung  through  these  halls  then  as  distinctly  as  they  now 
do ;  nay,  more,  gentlemen  were  then  sent  here  from  the 
commercial  cities  to  be  examined  upon  oath,  before  the 
committees  of  congress,  to  prove  the  existence  and  the 
extent  of  the  distress  ;  business  was  then  in  a  state  of  the 
utmost  depression  in  all  parts  of  the  Union ;  commerce 
was  literally  suspended  by  the  restrictive  measures  of  the 
government ;  trade  was  dull  beyond  any  former  example  ; 
property  of  all  kinds  was  unusually  depressed  in  price ; 
and  the  country  was  on  the  eve  of  a  war  with  the  most 
powerful  nation  in  the  world.  Still,  congress  was  un- 
moved, and  the  old  bank  was  not  rechartered.  Such  is 
the  history  of  that  period,  and,  with  the  final  action  of 
congress,  all  knowledge  of  the  distress  ceased.  Who  has 
ever  heard  of  disasters  to  the  business  of  the  country, 
proceeding  from  the  winding  up  of  the  old  bank  ?  I,  sir, 
can  find  no  trace  of  any  such  consequences.  I  do  find 
that,  in  a  period  of  about  eighteen  months  after  the  expi- 
ration of  the  charter,  the  bank  disposed  of  its  obligations, 
and  divided  to  its  stockholders  about  eighty-eight  per 
cent,  upon  their  stock. 

"  It  is  now  admitted,  on  all  hands,  that  the  country  is 
rich  and  prosperous  in  an  unusual  degree ;  property  of  all 
kinds  is  abundant ;  commerce  is  free,  and  extensive,  and 
flourishing,  and  business  of  every  description  is  healthful 
and  vigorous.  If  then,  we  cannot,  in  this  condition  of 
things,  sustain  the  closing  of  the  affairs  of  this  great  mo- 
neyed incorporation,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  the  country 
will  never  see  the  time  when  it  can  do  it.  Grant  it  longer 
life  and  deeper  root,  and  in  vain  shall  we  try  in  future  to 
shake  it  from  us.  It  will  dictate  its  own  terms,  and  com- 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  137 

mand  its  own  existence.  Indeed,  Mr.  President,  the 
whole  tendency  of  the  honorable  senator's  argument 
seemed  to  me  to  be,  to  prove  the  necessity  of  a  perpetual 
bank  of  this  description ;  and  we  have  been  repeatedly 
told,  during  the  debate  of  the  last  three  months,  that  this 
free,  and  rich,  and  prosperous  country,  cannot  get  on 
without  a  great  moneyed  power  of  this  description  to 
regulate  its  affairs.  The  bill  before  the  senate  proposes 
to  repeal  the  monopolizing  provision  in  the  existing  char- 
ter, and  the  honorable  senator  tells  us  that  this  is  to  be 
done  that  congress  may,  within  the  six  years  over  which 
this  is  to  extend  the  life  of  the  present  bank,  establish  a 
new  bank  to  take  its  place,  and  into  which  the  affairs  of 
the  old  may  be  transferred,  so  as  to  be  finally  closed  with- 
out a  shock  to  the  country.  Sir,  this  is  not  the  relief  I 
seek.  My  object  is  the  entire  discontinuance  and  eradi- 
cation of  this  or  any  similar  institution.  We  are  told  the 
distresses  of  the  country  will  not  permit  this  now.  When, 
sir,  will  it  ever  permit  it  better  ?  When  will  the  time 
come,  that  this  odious  institution  can  be  finally  closed 
with  less  distress  than  now  ?  Never,  while  cupidity 
obeys  its  fixed  laws  ;  never,  sir,  never ! 

"  This  distress,  Mr.  President,  did  not  exist  when  we 
left  our  homes ;  we  heard  not  of  it  then  ;  it  commenced 
with  the  commencement  of  our  debates  here ;  and  I  doubt 
not  it  will  end  when  our  debates  end,  and  our  final  action 
is  known,  whatever  may  be  the  result  to  which  we  shall 
arrive.  It  must  necessarily  be  temporary,  and  it  does  not 
prove  to  my  mind  the  necessity  of  a  bank,  but  the  mis- 
chiefs a  bank  may  produce.  I  care  not  whether  it  be  or 
be  not  in  the  power  of  the  bank  to  ameliorate  the  evils 
now  complained  of.  That  it  can  cause  them  in  any 
manner,  is  proof  that,  if  the  disposition  exist,  it  can  cause 


138  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WEIGHT. 

them  at  pleasure  ;  and  this  very  fact  is  the  strongest  evi- 
dence, to  my  mind,  that  no  institution,  with  such  a  power, 
ought  to  exist  in  this  country. 

"  Sir,  the  subject  of  our  present  action  involves  two 
great  first  principles  ;  one  of  constitutional  power,  and 
one  of  governmental  expediency.  Upon  neither  should 
our  action  be  governed  solely  by  considerations  of  tem- 
porary derangement  and  distress  in  the  money-market. 
Revulsions  in  trade  and  business,  and  pecuniary  affairs, 
will  happen.  They  must  be  temporary ;  the  country 
will  restore  itself,  and  money  will  again  be  plenty  ;  but 
the  settlement  of  important  principles  must  involve  con- 
sequences of  an  enduring  character,  —  consequences 
which  will  exert  an  influence  for  good  or  for  evil,  through 
all  time." 

These  and  other  great  efforts  of  Mr.  Wright  before  the 
close  of  the  session,  elevated  him  to  a  position  which 
placed  him  in  the  first  ranks  of  the  orators  in  the  senate. 
After  delivering  the  speech  from  which  we  have  last 
quoted,  it  is  said  Mr.  Webster,  who,  from  the  coldness  and 
acerbity  of  his  temper,  is  not  in  the  habit  of  compli- 
menting any  one,  and  more  especially  his  political  oppo- 
nents, did,  on  this  occasion,  pronounce  a  high  encomium 
on  the  ability  displayed  by  Mr.  Wright. 

The  session  terminated  on  the  30th  of  June,  1834,  and 
immediately  after  his  return  to  the  state,  Mr.  Wright  was 
invited  by  the  democratic  citizens  of  Albany,  in  testi- 
mony of  their  gratitude  and  respect  for  his  services,  to 
accept  of  a  public  dinner  To  this  invitation  he  made 
the  following  characteristically  modest  reply  : 

"  You  will  believe  me,  gentlemen,  when  I  say  that 
from  no  quarter  could  such  a  mark  of  friendship  and  con- 
fidence come  to  me  more  acceptably,  than  from  the  dem- 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  139 

ocratic  citizens  of  Albany.  With  them  for  my  associates 
and  counsellors,  and  under  their  personal  observation,  has 
much  the  largest  portion  of  my  public  duties  been  dis- 
charged ;  and  this  evidence  that  I  have  been  so  fortunate 
as  to  secure  their  approbation,  is  most  gratifying,  as  it 
permits  me  to  hope  that  my  efforts  to  be  faithful  to  the 
public  have  not  been  wholly  unsuccessful.  A  proper  at- 
tention to  the  same  duties  compels  me  to  ask  you,  and 
those  whom  you  represent,  to  excuse  me  from  meeting 
you  and  them  as  you  request.  My  short  stay  in  the  city 
must  be  wholly  devoted  to  public  business  and  public 
interests  of  great  importance,  a  necessary  attention  to 
which  brought  me  here  thus  early,  on  my  way  to  the  seat 
of  government ;  and  while  I  will  not  attempt  to  express 
my  regret  that  I  cannot  enjoy  the  social  meeting  to  which 
you  invite  me,  I  am  consoled  by  the  reflection  that  the 
loss  will  be  mine — not  that  of  the  friends  who  are  thus 
partial  to  me." 

At  the  short  session  which  commenced  on  the  4th  of 
December,  1834,  and  ended  on  the  4th  of  March,  1835, 
Mr.  Wright  was  elected  a  member  of  two  important 
committees ;  that  is  to  say,  the  committee  on  finance  and 
that  on  commerce ;  and  although  his  labors  as  a  member 
of  those  committees  must  have  been  arduous,  he  was  not 
required  to  make  any  public  exhibition  of  his  services 
until  the  very  last  day  of  the  session,  when  news  arrived 
which  gave  reason  to  apprehend  danger  of  an  immediate 
rupture  with  France.  As  there  was  a  probability  that 
war  might  break  out  with  that  nation  during  the  recess 
of  congress,  the  friends  of  the  administration  in  the  house 
of  representatives  added  a  clause  to  the  fortification  bill 
appropriating  the  sum  of  three  millions  of  dollars  to  be 
expended  under  the  direction  of  the  president,  if  he  should 


140  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

deem  it  necessary.  The  opposition  members  of  the  sen- 
ate, who  then  held  a  majority  in  that  house,  refused  to 
concur  with  this  amendment  when  it  came  back  from  the 
house,  on-  the  ground  that  it  was  unnecessarily  confiding 
too  much  to  the  discretion  of  the  president.  After  sev- 
eral of  the  senators  on  both  sides  had  spoken,  and  there 
appeared  to  be  a  majority  against  the  appropriation,  Mr. 
Wright  addressed  the  senate  in  a  most  powerful,  and,  as 
it  subsequently  appeared,  effective  manner. 

"  He  said  he  hoped  the  senate  would  not  adhere  to 
their  disagreement.  He  felt  himself  bound  to  state  that 
he  did  not  know  that  he  had  heard  of  the  constitution 
being  broken  down — destroyed — and  thy  liberties  of  the 
country  overthrown,  so  frequently  in  that  senate,  as  to 
render  him  callous  to  the  real  state  of  things.  For  the 
last  sixteen  months  these  fears  and  forebodings  had  been 
so  strongly  and  often  expressed  on  that  floor,  that  they 
had  been  forcibly  impressed  upon  him  ;  yet,  he  must  say, 
that  he  was  incapable  of  perceiving  a  particle  of  their 
effects.  No  evidence  had  he  seen  of  them ;  nor  could 
he  now  partake  of  the  alarm  which  some  gentlemen  pre- 
tended to  feel,  when  he  saw  that  the  asseverations  made 
at  this  time  came  from  the  same  source.  What  had  the 
senate  now  before  it  ?  A  bill  from  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives— from  the  immediate  representatives  of  the 
people,  proposing  to  provide  for  the  defence  of  the  coun- 
try. What  had  honorable  senators  debated  ?  The  dan- 
ger of  executive  power.  Were,  he  would  ask,  those 
representatives,  sitting  at  the  other  end  of  the  capitol, 
the  most  likely  to  contribute  to  that  danger  ?  Was  that 
the  source  from  which  senators  were  compelled  to  look 
for  danger  in  that  respect  ?  Such  an  idea  had  never  oc- 
curred to  his  mind.  Under  what  circumstances  did  the 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  141 

members  of  the  other  body  permit  the  appropriation  ? 
He  believed,  and  he  spoke  on  good  authority,  that  our 
minister  at  the  court  of  France  had  informed  this  gov- 
ernment that  it  was  problematical  that  the  French  might 
strike  the  first  blow  against  us  by  detaining  our  fleet,  now 
in  the  Mediterranean.  Congress  were  on  the  point  of 
^adjourning ;  and  being  in  possession  of  such  advices  from 
our  minister,  they  had  thought  proper  to  act  as  they  had 
done  in  regard  to  this  appropriation,  and  he  would  in- 
quire, by  what  notion  it  was,  that  the  senate  were  to  be 
impressed  with  the  danger  of  putting  this  power  into  the 
hands  of  the  executive — that  our  liberties  were  to  be  de- 
stroyed, and  the  constitution  trampled  upon?  Ay,  in 
making  an  appropriation  for  the  defence  and  safety  of  the 
country  from  a  foreign  enemy  ! 

"  The  honorable  senator,"  (Mr.  Leigh,)  said  Mr.  Wright 
in  continuation,  "  has  exhibited  to  us  the  dangers — of 
what  ?  Not  &  foreign  enemy,  for  he  would  hardly  dread 
the  landing  of  a  foreign  foe  at  our  doors — but  a  domestic 
enemy  is  to  ruin  us !  I  remember,  though  it  was  at  a 
period  when  I  was  very  young,  that  a  certain  portion  of 
the  country  held  the  same  opinion  as  the  honorable  sen- 
ator, and,  when  a  foreign  enemy  did  land  in  it,  no  alarm 
was  shown,  but  the  people  there  were  alarmed  at  the  do- 
mestic  enemy.  How.  was  the  foreign  enemy  met  ?  As 
the  honorable  senator  has  most  eloquently  said — '  breast 
to  breast  ?'  No  ;  that  enemy  was  seen  holding  a  Bible 
in  his  hand,  and  the  American  citizen  putting  his  hand 
upon  it,  and  swearing  allegiance  to  the  British  govern- 
ment. Such  is  not  my  feeling  in  regard  to  a  foreign  en- 
emy. I  would  prepare  to  repulse  him  at  the  first  step  ;  I 
would  prepare  to  prevent  him  from  touching  my  native 
soil,  if  I  had  it  in  my  power." 


142  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

The  effect  of  this  earnest  appeal  was,  that  the  major- 
ity relented,  and  a  committee  of  conference  was  appointed, 
who  adopted  the  principle  of  the  amendment,  but  reduced 
the  amount  of  the  appropriation.  The  senate  concurred  in 
the  amendment  proposed  by  the  committee  of  conference. 

We  have  before  remarked  that  Mr.  Wright  always 
spoke  for  the  purpose  of  convincing  those  whose  duty  it 
was  to  act.  His  reasoning  was  addressed  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  senate,  not  to  the  lobby — to  those  in  the 
house,  not  to  the  multitude  without. 

We  omitted  to  state  in  its  proper  place  that  when  Mr. 
Wright  was  elected  to  the  senate,  his  friend,  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  was  vice-president  of  the  United  States,  and 
then  well  known  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  presi- 
dent, when  the  term  of  Gen.  Jackson  should  expire.  It  is 
in  our  opinion  highly  probable  that  Mr.  Van  Buren,  being 
well  acquainted  with  the  talents  and  tact  of  Mr.  Wright, 
and  knowing  that  he  could  rely  with  the  most  perfect 
confidence  on  his  friendship  and  fidelity,  and  being  sen- 
sible that  he  should  eminently  need  in  the  senate  of  the 
United  States,  of  which  he  was  the  presiding  officer,  pre- 
cisely such  a  man,  and  such  a  friend  as  Mr.  Wright,  felt 
a  deep  interest  in  his  election,  and  no  doubt  exerted  what 
influence  he  possessed  at  Albany  to  accomplish  that  ob- 
ject. Mr.  Wright,  as  we  have  seen,  did  not  disappoint 
his  expectation ;  on  the  contrary,  he  acquired  a  standing 
and  influence  in  the  nation  which,  no  doubt,  exceeded 
even  Mr.  Van  Buren's  anticipations. 

Of  the  democratic  convention  held  at  Baltimore  in  the 
summer  of  1835,  for  the  nomination  of  a  successor  of 
Gen.  Jackson,  Mr.  Wright  was  a  member,  and  of  course 
supported  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  which  was 
effected  with  great  unanimity.  His  election  being  certain, 


LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT.  143 

and  as  there  is>  at  all  times  a  large  number  ever  ready  to 
worship  the  "  rising  sun,"  and  as  Mr.  Wright  was  known 
to  be  the  confidential  friend  of  the  nominee  for  the  pres- 
idency, the  Baltimore  nomination  added  to  the  power  and 
influence  of  Mr.  Wright,  as  wpll  in  the  national  legisla- 
ture as  among  the  people. 

At  the  session  of  congress  in  December,  1835,  he  was 
again  placed  on  the  committee  of  finance.  The  land 
distribution  bill  was  again  brought  forward  in  the  senate, 
and  again  passed  that  body,  though  it  was  opposed  by 
Mr.  Calhoun,  as  well  as  by  Mr.  Benton  and  Mr.  Wright. 

During  this  session  a  petition  was  presented  by  the  soci- 
ety of  Friends  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  praying  congress 
to  pass  a  law  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District 
of  Columbia.  On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Buchanan  to  re- 
fuse to  receive  the  petition,  it  was  rejected,  only  six  mem- 
bers voting  for  its  reception,  Mr.  Wright  voting  with  the 
majority.  Before  the  end  of  the  session  a  bill  was 
passed  to  "prevent  the  transmission  through  the  mail  of 
printed  matter  calculated  to  excite  the  prejudices  of  the 
citizens  of  the  southern  states  in  regard  to  the  question 
of  slavery."  Mr.  Wright  gave  his  vote  for  this  bill.  So 
far  from  perceiving  any  justification,  we  are  unable  to 
discover  even  a  plausible  excuse  for  these  votes,  more 
especially  the  last.  We  cannot  exclude  from  our  mind 
the  suspicion  that  Mr.  Wright  was  apprehensive  that  his 
votes  on  these  occasions  might  have  an  important  effect 
on  the  support  that  his  friend  would  receive  for  president 
in  the  states  south  of  the  Potomac,  and  that  the  maxim 
of  " measures — not  men"  which  we  have  said  generally 
controlled  his  political  actions,  ceased  at  this  moment  to 
influence  him.  We  have,  however,  no  doubt  but  that 
before  his  death  he  deeply  regretted  those  votes. 


144  LIFE    OP   SILAS    WRIGHT. 

Previous  to  the  removal  of  the  deposites  the  national 
debt  had  been  extinguished,  and  the  flourishing  condition 
of  the  nation,  and  the  extent  of  its  commerce,  produced 
a  surplus  of  revenue,  which  remained  in  the  United  States 
treasury  unexpended,  to  the  amount  of  forty  millions  of 
dollars.  This  enormous  sum  was  deposited  in  the  banks 
selected  by  the  secretary  of  the  treasury ;  and  they  thus 
became  the  fiscal  agents  of  the  government.  They  were 
hence  called  "pet  banks."  How  was  this  surplus  to  be 
disposed  of?  The  senators  opposed  to  the  administration, 
with  a  part  of  its  friends,  were  in  favor  of  distributing  it 
among  the  several  states,  in  proportion  to  their  represen- 
tation in  congress.  This  scheme  was  opposed  by  Gen. 
Jackson,  Mr.  Van  Buren,  Mr.  Benton,  and  Mr.  Wright ; 
but  a  bill  for  that  purpose  was  introduced,  which,  after 
being  slightly  modified,  to  avoid  a  constitutional  ob- 
jection which  was  entertained  by  the  president  and 
some  of  his  friends,  it  passed  both  houses,  and  became 
a  law.  But  previous  to  the  passage  of  this  law,  the 
great  amount  of  government  funds  in  the  pet  banks 
enabled  them  to  loan  vast  sums  of  money  (and  in  this 
course  it  is  but  just  to  say  they  were  encouraged  by 
intimations  from  the  executive  department)  to  all  and 
every  one  who  had  any  credit,  and  who  wished  to 
borrow.  The  profuse  issues  of  the  pet  banks  enabled 
all  other  banks  to  increase  their  issues,  and  by  this  means 
the  whole  country  became  flooded  with  a  paper  curren- 
cy. In  this  state  of  things  imports  were  increased,  be- 
cause the  redundancy  of  money  enabled  the  merchant 
to  make  great  and  rapid  sales  of  goods.  But  this  was 
not  all :  a  rage — a  perfect  mania  for  speculation  in  every 
thing,  and  especially  in  real  estate  in  villages  and  cities. 
and  in  the  public  lands,  seized  the  minds  of  men,  and  the 


LIFE    01-    SILAS    WRIGHT.  145 

current  carried  along  with  it  many  of  the  most  cautious 
and  careful  business  men  in  the  community.  Immense 
quantities  of.  lands  belonging  to  the  United  States  were 
sold  to  speculators,  and  paid  for  in  moneys  either  directly 
or  indirectly  obtained  from  the  pet  banks.  This  money 
was  paid  to  the  receivers  at  the  several  land  offices,  and 
by  the  receivers  deposited  in  the  banks,  when  the  same 
money  was  perhaps  on  the  same  day  reloaned  to  the  land 
speculator,  who  again,  with  that  very  money,  purchased 
other  lands,  when  it  again  passed  through  the  same  pro- 
cess. To  check,  if  not  to  put  a  period  to  this  ruinous 
system,  Gen.  Jackson,  on  the  llth  day  of  July,  1836, 
issued  his  celebrated  specie  circular,  by  which  he  direct- 
ed the  receivers  of  money  for  the  sale  of  the  public  lands 
not  to  receive  any  thing  in  payment  but  gold  and  silver 
coin.  This,  together  with  the  distribution  of  the  surplus 
in  the  treasury,  produced  a  revulsion  tremendous  in  its 
consequences,  of  which  we  shall  have  occasion  hereafter 
to  speak  more  particularly. 

At  the  meeting  of  congress  in  December,  1836,  it  was 
found  that  there  was  a  nominal  majority  in  the  senate  fa- 
vorable to  the  administration,  and  Mr.  Wright  was  elect- 
ed chairman  of  the  finance  committee, — a  station  which, 
though  important  and  honorable,  was  at  this  time  by  no 
means  enviable,  since  he  had  to  encounter  a  furious  and 
highly-talented  opposition,  consisting  partly  of  his  own 
professed  political  friends,  among  whom  was  his  col- 
league, Mr.  Tallmadge,  who  entertained  financial  views 
entirely  adverse  to  those  of  Mr.  Wright.  The  specie 
circular  was  made  the  subject  of  severe  animadversion, 
and  many  of  the  nominal  friends  of  the  administration 
disapproved  of  it.  A  law  or  resolution  was  accordingly 
passed,  which  nullified  it,  but  General  Jackson,  that 
10 


146  LIFE    OF    S1L.A3    WRIGHT. 

man  of  "  the  iron  will,"  refused  to  carry  it  into  effect, 
on  the  alleged  ground  that  it  was  indefinite  and  uncer- 
tain. 

During  the  session  of  the  New  York  legislature  in  1837, 
Mr.  Wright  was  again  elected  to  the  senate  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  for  six  years  succeeding  the  4th  of  March  of 
that  year.  There  was,  it  is  true, -some  opposition  to  his 
re-election,  growing  out  of  the  banking  interest  in  the 
state,  and  the  hostility  of  those  who  were  anxious  to 
prosecute  and  extend  internal  improvements  by  canals. 
He  was  nevertheless  nominated  in  caucus  by  a  large  ma- 
jority, and  subsequently  elected. 

When  the  power  and  influence  of  the  two  great  inter- 
ests we  have  mentioned  are  considered,  in  connection 
with  the  known  partiality  of  the  people  of  this  state  for 
rotation  in  office,  the  evidence  furnished  by  this  re-elec- 
tion of  the  fixed  and  almost  unexampled  confidence  in 
the  integrity  and  patriotism  of  Mr.  Wright,  and  the  just 
appreciation  of  the  value  of  his  services  by  the  demo- 
cratic party  of  his  own  state,  is  as  obvious  as  it  is  honor- 
able to  his  fame  and  memory. 


LIFE   OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  147 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Suspension  of  Specie  Payments  by  the  Banks — Extra  Session  of  Con- 
gress in  September,  1837 — Mr.  Wright's  Opinion  on  the  Subject  of  the 
Suspension  of  the  Banks  and  of  the  Independent  Treasury,  as  expressed 
by  him  previous  to  the  Extra  Session  of  Congress — At  the  Extra  Session 
Mr.  Wright  reports  the  Independent  Treasury  Bill — It  passes  the  Sen- 
ate, but  is  lost  in  the  House  of  Representatives — He  brings  in  the  same 
bill  at  the  Regular  Session,  but  it  fails  of  passing — July  4,  1840,  the 
Bill  becomes  a  Law — Mr.  Wright  votes  for  Mr.  Clay's  Resolution  against 
any  interference  with  Slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia — Mr.  Wright's 
Oration  delivered  at  Canton  in  1839 — His  Efforts  to  promote  Mr.  Vau 
Bureu's  Election  in  1840. 

BUT  the  time  was  come  when  the  paper  and  credit 
system,  bloated  and  swollen  to  its  utmost  tension,  could 
no  longer  be  sustained.  Its  explosion  produced  a  shock 
which  was  felt  not  only  in  our  commercial  cities,  but  in 
every  neighborhood  and  hamlet  in  the  United  States. 
The  suspension  of  specie  payments  by  the  banks,  which 
occurred  in  1837,  was  owing  to  a  variety  of  causes,  all 
operating  at  the  same  time. 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  during  the  years  1835 
and  1836  importations  of  goods 'from  Europe  were  very 
great.  Many  of  these  goods  were  purchased  on  credit, 
and  in  1837  the  English  merchants  called  loudly  on  their 
American  customers  for  remittances.  The  balance  of 
trade  being  at  that  time  decidedly  against  this  country, 
these  remittances,  as  well  as  the  payment  for  new  goods, 
were  required  to  be  in  specie. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  stocks  issued  by  several  of 


J48  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

the  states  of  the  Union,  during  two  or  three  preceding 
years,  were  held  in  England,  and  the  interest  on  those 
stocks  could  be  paid  only  in  coin. 

The  rage  for  the  purchase  of  public  land  still  contin- 
ued, but  the  operation  of  the  specie  circular  on  the 
purchase  of  those  lands  produced  a  constant  drain  of 
gold  and  silver  from  the  vaults  of  the  banks. 

The  distribution  of  the  surplus  revenue,  instead  of  di- 
minishing, from  the  manner  in  which  the  distribution  was 
made  by  Secretary  Woodbury,  increased  the  pressure. 
An  immense  capital,  which  formerly  was  active,  had  re- 
cently been  invested  in  real  estate,  and  was  now  dormant 
and  wholly  unproductive.  To  add  to  this  array  of  diffi- 
culties and  embarrassments,  the  Bank  of  England,  alarmed 
at  the  condition  of  the  monetary  affairs  in  America,  refused 
to  discount  for  the  American  bankers  in  London  and  Liv- 
erpool, and  for  the  houses  engaged  in  the  American  trade. 

The  pressure  began  early  in  the  spring  of  1837,  and  by 
the  first  part%f  May,  when  a  great  amount  of  bills  of  ex- 
change drawn  by  the  New  York  merchants  upon  their 
correspondents,  and  on  houses  in  which  they  believed 
they  had  credit  in  England,  were  returned  protested,  the 
distress  became  extreme.  A  delegation  from  the  mer- 
chants in  New  York  was  sent  to  the  president,  (Mr.  Van 
Buren,)  who  requested  him  to  rescind  the  specie  circular, 
and  to  delay  the  collection  of  bonds  given  for  duties.  He 
complied  with  the  last,  but  denied  the  first  request.  Im- 
mediately on  the  return  of  the  delegation,  all  the  banks  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  and  within  a  day  or  two  after- 
wards, all  the  banks  in  the  United  States,  suspended  spe- 
cie payments.  At  that  moment  they  held  in  their  coffers 
forty  millions  of  dollars,  which  they  had  received  in  trust, 
and  which  belonged  to  the  United  States.  In  this  lam- 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  149 

entable  condition  of  things,  the  president  issued  a  proc- 
lamation summoning  an  extra  session  of  congress,  to  meet 
on  the  4th  day  of  September  of  that  year. 

By  the  condition  of  the  charters,  we  believe,  of  all  the 
banks  in  the  state  of  New  York,  a  refusal  to  pay  in  spe- 
cie their  notes  on  demand,  was  declared  to  be  a  forfeit- 
ure of  their  charters.  In  the  present  emergency  they 
applied  to  the  legislature,  then  in  session  at  Albany,  pray- 
ing the  passage  of  a  law  authorizing  them  to  suspend  the 
payment  of  their  notes  for  a  limited  time.  The  legisla- 
ture granted  their  request,  and  on  the  sixteenth  day  of 
May  enacted  a  law,  that  "  every  provision  of  law  in  force, 
requiring  or  authorizing  proceedings  against  any  bank  in 
this  state,  with  a  view  to  forfeit  its  charter  or  wind  up 
its  concerns,  or  which  requires  such  bank  to  suspend  its 
operations  and  proceedings  in  consequence  of  a  refusal  to 
pay  its  notes  or  evidences  of  debt  in  specie,  is  hereby 
suspended  for  one  year." 

We  may  well  imagine,  from  the  position  held  by  Mr. 
Wright  as  a  senator  and  as  chairman  of  the  finance  com- 
mittee, and  the  interest  he  felt  in  the  success  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren's  administration,  that  he  must  have  viewed  the 
present  condition  of  things  with  deep  and  painful  anxiety. 
He  was  then  at  home  in  Canton,  on  his  farm,  engaged  in 
its  cultivation,  but  his  vigorous  and  ever  active  mind  was 
employed  in  devising  and  maturing  schemes  for  the  relief 
of  his  country. 

While  in  this  retirement  he  wrote  two  numbers  on  the 
subject  of  the  monetary  affairs  of  the  state  and  nation,  which 
were  published  some  time  before  the  extra  session  of  1837, 
in  the  St.  Lawrence  Republican,  with  a  copy  of  which  we 
have  been  kindly  furnished  by  a  friend.  These  numbers 
are  valuable,  not  only  because  they  furnish  one  of  the 


150  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

finest  specimens  of  terse,  neat,  and  elegant  composition, 
but  because  they  show  the  action  of  the  mind  of  Silas 
Wright  on  some  great  questions  which  were  then  novel, 
and  demonstrate  the  truth  of  propositions  which  although 
then  put  forth  for  that  particular  occasion,  may  be  again, 
and  indeed  are  at  the  present  moment,  highly  important. 
For  these  reasons  we  hope  we  shall  be  excused  for  pre- 
senting to  our  readers  the  substance  of  those  articles. 

The  title  given  by  Mr.  Wright  to  these  numbers  is 
"  The  Times,"  and  the  first  number  treats  of  "  The  prob- 
able continuance  of  the  Suspension  of  Specie  Payments 
by  the  Banks."  The  remarks  of  the  author  are  es- 
pecially applicable  to  the  suspension  law  of  this  state, 
which  we  have  just  quoted.  The  author  thus  introduces 
himself  to  his  readers  : 

"  The  discussion  of  this  question  involves  points  of 
delicacy,  of  which  we  trust  we  are  not  insensible.  We 
can  say  with  perfect  truth,  however,  that  no  hostility  to 
any  banking  institution  in  this  state,  or  country,  and  no 
prejudice  against  banks  generally,  leads  us  to  the  discus- 
sion. 

"  In  our  view  of  the  matter,  the  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion, when  shall  the  banks  resume  specie  payments,  or 
take  the  consequences  imposed  by  their  charters  for  a 
failure  to  do  so,  rests  with  the  people.  It  is,  therefore,  not 
only  proper,  but  imperative  upon  the  press,  that  the  ques- 
tion shall  be  early  discussed,  and  the  attention  of  the  peo- 
ple drawn  to  it  in  all  its  bearings." 

He  goes  on  to  say  that  there  are  three  distinct  interests 
involved  in  the  question  ;  those  interests  are  that  of  the 
banks,  their  customers,  and  the  people.  On  the  subject 
of  the  interest  of  the  banks,  the  writer  says  : 

"  Under  this  head  we  trust  we  may  assume  one  posi- 


I  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  151 

tion,  without  the  apprehension  of  contradiction  or  ques- 
tion, from  any  quarter  whatsoever,  and  that  position  is, 
that  it  is  the  interest  of  every  bank  to  continue  the  sus- 
pension of  specie  payments  so  long  as  they  can  keep  their 
credit  so  as  to  make  their  notes  current  with  the  commu- 
nity as  money. 

"  The  incorporated  banks  have  vast  privileges,  and 
still  more  important  exemptions.  Their  privilege  of  issu- 
ing, by  express  authority  of  law,  their  paper  promises  to 
pay  gold  and  silver  on  demand  as  currency,  to  take  the 
place  of  gold  and  silver  in  the  hands  and  pockets  of  the 
people,  is  nothing  less  than  the  delegation  to  them  of  one 
of  the  most  delicate,  important,  and  responsible  preroga- 
tives of  the  sovereignty  of  any  civil  government.  Their 
exemption  from  liability  to  pay  any  description  of  their 
debts,  beyond  the  mere  amount  of  stock  paid  in  to  the 
bank,  is  an  invidious  privilege  to  these  artificial  corpora- 
tions over  those  extended  to  natural  persons,  the  citizens 
and  freemen  of  our  country,  which  would  startle  every  hon- 
est mind,  not  familiarized,  by  custom  and  use,  to  the  legis- 
lative preference  for  soulless  paper  existences,  over  the 
persons  of  God's  creation,  with  hearts  and  souls  and  con- 
sciences, and  at  least  some  sense  of  moral  obligation. 
The  only  real  consideration  to  the  community  for  this 
privilege  of  creating  currency  on  the  one  hand,  and  ex- 
emption from  liability  for  the  most  just  debts  on  the  other, 
is  the  single,  simple,  and  most  just  obligation  to  pay  on 
demand,  at  the  banking-house,  the  gold  and  silver  for  their 
promissory  currency,  their  bank  notes,  which  are  mere 
pi'omises  to  pay  gold  and  silver.  When  this  obligation  is 
discharged  by  legislation,  or  the  voluntary  action  of  the 
banks,  the  people  lose  wholly  their  slender  equivalent  for 
one  of  their  most  important  rights,  surrendered  to  these 


152  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

incorporations  ;  the  institutions  are  discharged  from  their 
only  onerous  responsibility,  and  what  is  called  currency 
is  the  mere  form  of  a  promise  to  pay,  most  tastefully  exe- 
cuted, without  any  intention  on  the  part  of  the  promiser 
to  pay,  and  with  the  knowledge  on  the  part  of  him  who 
receives  the  promise  as  money,  that  it  will  not  be  paid. 

"  The  bank  that  issues  notes  which  it  cannot  redeem 
in  specie,  while  the  obligation  to  pay  specie  imposed  by 
its  charter  remains  unannulled  by  legislation,  and  unre- 
voked  by  the  bank,  practises  a  fraud  upon  the  public,  for 
which  a  natural  person  would  be  convicted  of  the  crime 
of  swindling,  and  have  a  cell  assigned  him  in  some  one  of 
the  public  prisons  provided  for  the  punishment  of  high 
crimes  against  the  peace  and  safety  of  civil  society  ;  but 
the  bank  which  so  issues  bills,  after  its  obligation  to  re- 
deem in  specie  has  been  revoked  by  itself,  in  a  public 
declaration,  persisted  in  by  its  practice,  or  annulled  by 
legislation,  is  guilty  of  no  fraud  against  the  public,  or  in- 
dividuals. It  is  true,  the  bank  promises  to  pay,  but 
it  declares  before  the  promise,  and  that  declaration  is 
made  to  him  who  receives  the  promise,  that  it  will  not 
pay.  He,  therefore,  cannot  complain  that  the  promise  is 
not  fulfilled,  who  was  told,  before  it  was  given,  that  it 
would  not  be  fulfilled. 

"  Such  is  the  present  relation  between  the  banks  of  this 
state  and  the  people,  produced  by  the  published  declara- 
tion of  the  banks  that  they  would  not  redeem  their  notes 
with  gold  and  silver,  and  the  law  of  the  legislature  ex- 
empting them  from  the  severe  penalties  imposed  by  their 
charters  for  this  act  of  faithlessness  to  the  community. 

"  Who  then  can  doubt  the  soundness  of  the  position 
with  which  we  set  out,  that  it  is  the  interest  of  every 
bank  to  continue  the  suspension  of  specie  payments  to  the 


LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT.  153 

latest  hour  at  which  they  can  sustain  their  present  credit 
and  the  present  circulation  of  their  notes  without  those 
payments  ?" 

Mr.  Wright  then  proceeds  to  show,  and  does  most  con- 
clusively show,  that  the  substantial  interest  of  the  legiti- 
mate customers  of  banks  does  riot,  although  that  of  the 
speculator  does,  require  the  continuation  of  the  suspen- 
sion. 

With  respect  to  the  third  party  who  have  an  interest 
in  the  question,  whether  the  right  of  the  banks  to  suspend 
payment  of  their  notes  longer  than  the  year  allowed  by 
the  legislature  should  be  extended,  which  third  party,  it 
will  be  recollected,  is  the  people,  Mr.  Wright  says : 

"  For  the  last  six  or  seven  years  the  people  of  this 
state,  through  their  representatives  in  the  legislature,  have 
been  much  too  indulgent  in  yielding  to  the  cupidity  of 
individuals,  and  the  personal  and  unwearied  solicitations 
of  the  interested,*  for  local  bank  charters  ;  and  the  mis- 
chiefs resulting  from  that  mistaken  lenity  are  now  visit- 
ing themselves  upon  us  with  a  severity  which  usually 
pursues  any  criminal  laxity  of  vigilance  in  a  popular  gov- 
ernment. Almost  from  the  commencement  of  our  gov- 
ernment, state  and  national  banks  have  been  incorpora- 
ted by  legislative  authority,  and  by  the  powers  and  privi- 
leges granted  to  them,  have  been  made  the  practical 
trustees  of  the  currency  of  the  people.  As  we  have  re- 
ceded from  the  days  of  the  revolution,  the  sufferings  of 
that  period,  and  one  of  the  most  severe  among  them  was 


*  Every  old  member  of  the  legislature  knows  this  to  be  true  ;  and  Mr. 
Wright  himself  could  have  testified,  from  his  own  experience,  many  things 
in  relation  to  the  personal  and  unwearied  solicitations  of  the  interested  for 
local  bank  charters. — EDITOR. 


154  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WEIGHT. 

a  depreciated  paper  currency,  have  become  dim  in  the 
recollection,  and  in  just  about  that  proportion  we  have 
increased  our  banks  and  our  paper  circulation.  But  one 
revulsion  of  a  general  character  anterior  to  the  present 
time,  has  overtaken  us  in  this  career  of  substituting  credit 
for  money.  That  revulsion,  much  less  general  and  severe 
than  the  present,  was  occasioned  by  the  greatest  of  all 
national  calamities,  a  foreign  war  and  a  barren  treasury, 
and  was  made  imperative  much  more  by  the  wants  of 
the  national  treasury,  and  its  calls  upon  the  banks  for 
support,  than  from  any  exigencies  growing  out  of  the 
private  and  ordinary  transactions  of  the  banks  themselves. 
In  consequence  of  this,  the  banks  were  countenanced  and 
sustained  by  the  people  in  their  suspension  of  specie  pay- 
ments. Then  the  choice  for  the  people  to  make  was,  be- 
tween the  preservation  of  their  soil  and  their  liberties,  assail- 
ed by  a  most  formidable  foe,  and  the  preservation  of  their 
currency,  impaired  to  support  the  government  in  the  ar- 
duous struggle. 

"  Now  we  have  a  revulsion  entirely  universal,  and  that 
immediately  succeeding  a  period  of  prosperity  such  as  no 
country  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  ever  before  expe- 
rienced, and  without  any  national  calamity  of  any  char- 
acter whatsoever,  preceding  or  accompanying  it,  with 
which  it  can  be  in  any  possible  way  connected.  It  has 
proceeded  wholly  from  overtrading,  excessive  specula- 
tions, and  all  sorts  of  extravagance  consequent  upon  ex- 
cessive banking,  and  the  cheapening  of  credits  in  every 
department  of  business.  All  the  banks  have  suspended 
specie  payments,  and  we  have  an  inconvertible  paper 
currency  depreciated,  upon  an  average,  full  ten  per  cent, 
below  the  par  value  of  money. 

"  This  is  the  injury  under  which  the  whole  people  now 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  155 

suffer ;  and  its  necessary  consequences,  an  instability  in  the 
prices  of  property,  the  too  great  depression  in  the  value  of 
property  generally,  and  the  perfect  uncertainty  whether 
that  which  is  currency,  is  money  to  the  citizen  when  he  goes 
to  his  rest  at  night,  may  not  be  valueless  paper  when  he 
wakes  in  the  morning,  attend  this  derangement  of  our 
currency  much  more  closely  and  extensively  than  upon 
any  former  occasion,  because  the  causes  now  apparent 
for  this  suspension  by  the  banks  are  so  insufficient  to  ex- 
cuse the  course  pursued. 

"  What  is  now  the  choice  and  duty  of  the  people  ? 
They  have  no  great  national  interest  to  balance  against 
this  great  evil.  In  a  national  sense,  all  but  this  is  well. 
Their  direct  interest,  then,  is  the  most  speedy  restoration 
of  their  currency.  The  power  is  with  them.  We  have 
shown  that  no  interest  involved  is  entitled  to  interpose 
itself  between  them  and  this  vital  object.  This  interest 
is  paramount,  and  should  command  the,  popular  action. 
We  have  urged  a  strict  obedience  to  the  law,  and  a  con- 
sequent strict  compliance  with  all  the  provisions  of  the 
extension  act  of  the  present  legislature. 

"  All  this  being  done  and  suffered,  we  say  the  people 
should  command  an  immediate  restoration  of  specie  pay- 
ments. Not  a  day  more  should  the  continuance  of  the 
suspension  be  suffered.  Members  should  be  sent  to  the 
next  legislature,  whose  principles  and  opinions  are  with 
the  people  upon  this  point.  With  them  is  the  power ; 
and  if  they  will  it,  the  continuance  of  the  suspension  of 
specie  payments  by  the  banks  will  end  with  the  day 
which  closes  the  action  of  the  present  suspension  law. 
The  banks  would  not  have  forfeited  their  charters  if  that 
law  had  not  passed.  Some  few  institutions,  perhaps,  in- 
solvent in  fact,  might  have  been  wound  up;  and  the 


156  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

sooner  that  is  done  now  the  better,  for  every  great  inter- 
est, public  or  private  :  but  the  solvent  banks,  we  repeat, 
would  not  have  incurred  the  forfeiture.  They  were 
careful  so  to  make  their  movement  as  to  compel  legisla- 
tive action,  if  legislative  action  were  to  be  had,  within 
the  ten  days  allowed  them  by  their  charters  to  suspend, 
and  the  resumption  of  specie  payments  was  at  their  op- 
tion after  the  final  adjournment  of  the  legislature. 

"  Let,  then,  the  banks  now  know  that  that  act  of  sus- 
pension is  the  last,  and  let  them  and  the  next  legislature 
be  prepared  for  the  expiration  of  that  law." 

These  views  of  Mr.  Wright  were  copied  from  the  St. 
Lawrence  Republican  into  the  Albany  Argus  and  other 
papers,  which  had  an  extensive  circulation  ;  and  so  con- 
scious was  every  reader  of  the  truth  of  his  statement,  and 
so  clear  and  convincing  was  his  reasoning,  that  we  have 
no  doubt  they  nad  a  preponderating  effect  in  producing  a 
determination  in  the  minds  of  a  majority  of  the  people 
against  extending  the  time  for  the  suspension  of  specie 
payments  by  the  banks. 

The  second  number  of  "  The  Times"  treated  of  "  The 
duties  and  responsibilities  imposed  upon  the  national 
government  by  the  suspension  of  specie  payments  by  the 
state  banks." 

As  this  article  was  written  some  time  before  the  presi- 
dent recommended  the  independent  treasury  plan  ;  as  it 
presents  many  propositions  which  are  applicable  to  all 
times  as  well  as  to  the  eventful  period  of  1837 ;  and  more 
especially  as  it  exhibits  the  action  of  the  mind  of  SILAS 
WRIGHT  on  the  great  question,  whether  the  financial  con- 
cerns of  a  great  commercial  nation  can  be  safely  con- 
ducted without  the  aid  of  chartered  banks,  before  th«-)t 
question  had  been  discussed  in  any  legislative  assembly, 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  157 

and  as  it  shadowed  forth  the  scheme  of  an  independent 
treasury,  which  was  ultimately  established  by  law,  we 
shall  take  the  liberty  to  copy  it ;  in  the  mean  time  re- 
marking, that  if  the  reader  shall  derive  as  much  pleasure 
from  its  perusal  as  we  have  done,  he  will  not  regret  the 
space  which  it  occupies.  • 

"  The  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment in  this,  as  well  as  in  all  other  respects,  must  be  meas- 
ured by  its  delegated  powers,  and  it  will  therefore  be 
proper  for  us  to  look  at  the  extent  of  those  powers  before 
we  attempt  to  prescribe  the  duties  or  impress  the  respon- 
sibilities upon  our  public  servants. 

"The  constitution  of  the  United  States  is  the  charter 
of  the  powers  and  privileges  conferred  upon  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  ;  it  is  the  only  charter  of  pow- 
ers, or  privileges,  which  has  ever  been  granted  by  the 
people,  or  the  states,  to  that  government.  To  that  instru- 
ment, therefore,  alone  we  have  to  look  for  the  powers 
after  which  we  -seek,  to  determine  the  extent  of  the  pres* 
ent  discussion. 

"  In  the  fifth  clause  of  the  eighth  section  of  the  first  ar- 
ticle of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  among  the 
powers  conferred  upon  the  congress  of  the  United  States, 
we  find  the  following — '  To  coin  money,  regulate  the 
value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin.'  This  is  every  word 
we  find  in  that  instrument  conferring  upon  the  congress 
any  power  whatsoever  over  our  coin  or  currency.  The 
power  here  conferred  is  full  and  exclusive  to  make  the 
coin  and  declare  its  value,  and  to  declare  the  value  of 
foreign  coins,  and  here  it  ends.  Nothing  is  found  relative 
to  the  regulation  of  currency,  any  farther  than  that  curren- 
cy consists  of  coins,  and  not  one  word  as  to  the  regulation 
or  equalization  of  our  exchanges,  foreign  or  domestic. 


158  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

•'  We  therefore  repudiate  and  reject,  from  our  consid- 
eration of  this  topic,  all  the  modern  ideas  of  our  politicai 
opponents,  and  perhaps  of  some  of  our  political  friends, 
as  to  the  duties  of  the  federal  government  in  the  regula- 
tion of  our  currency,  and  of  the  exchanges  between  the 
states.  These»are  new  doctrines  which  have  grown  up 
with  the  other  imagined  necessities  for  a  national  bank, 
and,  indeed,  constitute  the  essence  and  root  of  all  the  ar- 
guments out  of  which  such  an  institution,  under  our  sys- 
tem, ever  has  grown,  or  ever  will  be  produced  in  future. 
Ail  the  reasoning,  heretofore,  in  favor  of  a  national  bank 
has  been  drawn,  not  from  the  constitution,  but  from  ex- 
pediency ;  not  from  any  grant  of  power,  but  from  sup- 
posed implication  to  almost  every  important  power  con- 
ferred upon  congress.  If  all  the  reasons  ever  urged  be 
carefully  examined,  and  traced  to  their  proper  source  and 
bearing,  they  will  be  found  to  result  in  the  mere  position 
that  it  is  necessary,  or  expedient,  or  both,  that  congress 
should  assume  upon  itself  the  regulation  of  the  currency 
of  the  states  generally,  and  also  the  regulation  of  the  ex- 
changes between  them. 

"  All  this  great  field  of  discussion  we  exclude  from  our 
consideration  of  the  present  subject,  with  the  declaration 
that  congress  has  no  power  to  do  these  things  by  the  con- 
stitution ;  that  congress  has  never  done  them ;  that  con- 
gress cannot  do  them.  The  states  do  not  assume  any 
power  to  coin  money,  or  regulate  the  value  of  coin,  but 
they  have  ever  assumed  and  exercised,  and  do  now  as- 
sume and  exercise,  the  power  to  regulate  the  collection 
of  debts  within  their  limits,  to  prescribe  what  shall  be  re- 
ceived by  the  creditor  in  payment  from  his  debtor,  as  a 
consideration  for  the  aid  of  the  state  laws  in  the  collec- 
tion of  his  demand.  Even  at  this  very  day  some  of  the 


MFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  159 

states  are  passing  laws  declaring  that  all  compulsory  pro- 
cess for  the  collection  of  debts  within  their  limits  shall 
be  stayed  in  all  cases  where  the  creditor  refuses  to  re- 
ceive in  payment  from  his  debtor,  at  the  par  value,  the 
irredeemable  and  inconvertible  paper  of  the  state  banks. 
Are  laws  of  this  character,  passed  by  the  state  legisla- 
tures, violations  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  infringements  upon  the  powers  granted  to  congress 
by  that  instrument  ? — for  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
the  constitution  itself  expressly  reserves  to  the  states  and 
the  people  all  powers  not  expressly  delegated  to  the  fed- 
eral government  or  prohibited  by  it  to  the  states.  If  the 
answer  be  that  these  laws  are  not  violations  of  the  con- 
stitution and  an  infringement  upon  the  powers  granted  to 
congress,  then  how  can  it  be  contended  that  congress  can 
regulate  the  currency,  when,  pending  the  existence  and 
execution  of  laws  of  this  character  in  and  by  the  several 
states,  any  regulations  which  congress  might  establish  for 
a  uniform  currency  could  neither  be  available  to  the  cred- 
itor, nor  obligatory  upon  the  debtor  ?  In  a  word,  any 
currency  established  by  congress  could  not  be,  within  the 
practical  and  useful  sense  of  that  term,  a  currency  for 
the  citizens  of  the  several  states,  without  the  permission, 
or  concurrent  action,  of  the  authorities  of  the  states.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  the  answer  be  that  these  laws  are  vio- 
lations of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  and  an 
infringement  upon  the  constitutional  powers  of  congress, 
what  can  that  body  substitute  for  their  action  ?  The  an- 
swer is  found  in  the  words  of  the  constitution  itself.  It  can 
coin  money,  and  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  can  do 
nothing  further ;  and  the  violation  must  consist  in  pre- 
venting the  creditor  from  availing  himself  of  the  curren- 
cy which  the  congress  can  thus  constitutionally  create 


160  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

and  regulate,  and  in  relieving  the  debtor  from  the  pay- 
ment of  his  debt  in  that  currency. 

"  We  do  not  intend,  upon  the  present  occasion,  nor  is 
it  necessary  for  our  purpose,  to  express  any  opinion,  or 
enter  into  any  discussion,  as  to  the  extent  of  the  powers 
of  the  state  legislatures  over  the  collection  of  debts  with- 
in their  respective  limits,  or  how  far  they  may  authorize, 
establish,  and  regulate,  either  through  the  instrumentality 
of  banks,  or  otherwise,  a  practical  currency  within  their 
jurisdictions  and  for  their  citizens,  provided  their  regula- 
tions for  any  of  these  purposes  do  not  violate  the  prohi- 
bitions upon  the  states  to  be  found  in  the  tenth  section  of 
the  first  article  of  the  constitution.  It  is  sufficient  for 
us  that  the  power  of  congress  over  the  currency  of  its 
own  creation  and  regulation  is  confined  to  the  collection 
and  disbursement  of  the  public  revenues,  and  that  no 
branch  of  the  federal  government  has  the  power  to  make 
even  coin  a  currency  binding  and  obligatory  upon  the 
citizens  of  the  several  states  for  any  other  purpose,  or  to 
prescribe  to  them  a  currency  for  any  other  uses. 

"  If  the  regulation  of  the  currency  within,  and  between 
the  states  be  not  within  the  constitutional  power  of  con- 
gress, it  will  scarcely  be  contended  that  the  regulation  of 
the  exchanges  between  the  commercial  cities,  a  mere  use 
of  currency,  is  conferred  by  the  power  '  to  coin  money, 
regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin.' 

"  The  power  of  congress,  then,  over  the  currency  and 
domestic  exchanges  of  the  country,  is  confined  to  the  col- 
lection and  disbursement  of  the  public  revenues,  and 
consists  in  the  power  to  prescribe  in  what  description 
of  currency  those  revenues  shall  be  received  and  paid 
out. 

"  That  the  only  currency  known  to  the  constitution  is 


LIKE    OK    SILAS    \VRIOI1T.  161 

a  currency  of  intrinsic  value,  a  metallic  currency,  a  cur- 
rency of  coin  according  to  the  value  placed  upon  it  by 
congress,  is  a  fact  too  plain  for  contradiction  or  question. 
Congress  derives  no  power,  from  that  instrument,  to 
make,  to  establish,  or  to  regulate  the  value  of  any  other 
currency,  nor  is  any  thing  else  recognised  therein  as 
money. 

"  From  these  facts  it  results,  as  the  most  plain  and  ob- 
vious duty  of  congress,  that  he  who  has  a  demand  against 
the  federal  government  for  '  money'  should  be  paid  that 
demand  in  money,  or,  if  in  any  other  medium  of  exchange, 
that  that  medium,  whatever  it  may  be,  should  be  equiv- 
alent to  '  money,'  equivalent  to  coin,  as  the  value  thereof 
is  regulated  by  congress. 

"  The  revenues  of  the  federal  government  are  derived 
directly  from  the  people.  They  pay  for  the  public  lands 
which  are  purchased,  and  they  purchase  and  consume 
the  foreign  dutiable  goods  which  are  imported.  From 
these  sources  the  national  revenues  are  received  into  the 
national  treasury,  and  hence  arises  another  imperious 
duty  of  every  department  of  the  national  government, 
viz :  the  duty  of  adopting  such  measures,  in  reference  to 
the  national  finances,  as  can  be  adopted  consistently  with 
the  constitutional  powers  conferred  upon  them,  and  are 
best  calculated  to  furnish  to  the  people  a  solvent,  equa- 
ble, and  stable  currency  in  which  to  pay  these  dues  and 
taxes. 

"  The  process,  in  the  transmission  of  property,  from 
the  producer,  the  manufacturer,  the  transporter,  the  mer- 
chant, to  the  consumer,  must  not  be  overlooked,  when 
we  are  discussing  great  general  interests,  such  as  now 
occupy  our  attention.  Profit  in  trade  is  the  rule  of  ac- 
tion and  the  governing  principle  of  all  employments, 
11 


162  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

trades,  and  professions ;  and  the  ingredients  of  price  of 
any  commodity,  at  every  step,  are  the  costs  and  charges 
to  him  who  offers  the  commodity  for  sale.  Upon  these 
costs  and  charges  his  profits  are  estimated,  and  the  addi- 
tion of  the  whole  is  the  purchaser's  limit,  within  which 
he  cannot  buy,  but  beyond  which  he  must  pay,  in  case 
any  change  of  market  has  increased  the  value  of  the  ar- 
ticle in  the  hands  of  the  holder.  Duties  to  the  govern- 
ment, therefore,  constitute  an  ingredient  of  price  in  the 
demand  of  the  retailing  merchant  for  imported  dutiable 
merchandise,  and  upon  those  duties  as  well  as  upon  the 
original  cost  of  the  goods  the  consumer  has  to  pay  the 
ordinary  mercantile  profits  of  the  importer,  the  jobber, 
and  the  retailer.  If,  added  to  the  duties,  there  is  a  dis- 
count upon  currency,  that  too  must  constitute  a  new  in- 
gredient of  price,  upon  which  the  same  series  of  profits 
must  be  added,  and  all  must  be  paid  by  the  consumer. 
This  addition  to  the  intrinsic  value  of  his  purchase  does 
not  confine  itself  to  a  single  ingredient  of  the  selling 
price,  but  covers  the  whole,  and  is  to  be  added,  to  the 
extent,  upon  every  and  all  charges  which  shall  enter  into 
the  seller's  value.  Can  there,  then,  be  a  stronger,  or 
more  palpable  duty  of  the  government  than  that,  so  far  as 
this  influence  of  its  action  is  concerned,  the  consumers 
of  foreign  imported  merchandise,  who  are  the  great  mass 
of  the  people  of  the  country,  should  be  relieved  from  a 
most  formidable  tax,  in  the  shape  of  an  extensive  depre- 
ciation of  the  currency  first,  and  of  the  various  mercan- 
tile profits  upon  that  ingredient  next  in  the  selling  prices 
to  consumers  ? 

"  This  view  of  the  subject  is  strictly  applicable  to  the 
consumers  of  imported  dutiable  goods,  because  they  must 
be  paid  for  in  a  medium  equivalent  to  specie,  and  be- 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  163 

cause  the  consumer  is  the  final  payer  of  all  costs  and 
charges,  including  the  duties  to  the  government,  and  the 
losses  consequent  upon  the  depreciation  of  currency,  if 
such  loss  is  sustained  by  any  one. 

"  The  same  duty  upon  the  federal  government  is  equal- 
ly imperative  as  to  that  portion  of  the  public  revenue 
derived  from  the  sales  of  lands,  from  another  consider- 
ation. The  lands  are  the  property  of  the  whole  peo- 
ple. In  the  cession  of  them  to  the  United  States  by  the 
several  states,  they  were  pledged  to  meet  '  the  general 
charge'  upon  the  people,  and  in  their  sale,  therefore,  every 
citizen  has  an  interest  in  direct  proportion  to  his  liability 
to  taxation,  direct  or  indirect,  to  support  the  government, 
and  pay  the  debts  and  expenses  of  the  nation.  The  price 
of  the  lands  is  fixed  by  law  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents  per  acre,  and  every  acre  sold  should  relieve  the 
tax-payers  of  the  country  from  that  amount  of  charge  : 
but  if  the  lands  be  sold  for  a  currency  depreciated  at  the 
rate  of  ten  per  cent.,  the  people  lose  one-tenth  of  their 
property  in  the  lands  so  sold,  which  loss  they  must  make 
up  to  the  national  treasury  by  direct  or  indirect  taxation. 
Hence  the  obligation  upon  congress  to  protect  the  cur- 
rency, so  far  as  it  may  be  within  its  constitutional  power 
to  do  so,  is  not  less,  arising  from  this  than  the  other  great 
branch  of  the  public  revenue. 

"  Another  duty,  equally  imperative  upon  the  govern- 
ment, and  much  more  interesting  and  important  to  the 
people,  is  that  of  a  paternal  guardianship  over  the  rights 
and  interests  of  the  governed ;  and,  as  one  of  the  most 
vital  among  those  rights  and  interests,  the  protection  and 
preservation,  by  all  the  ways  and  means  in  its  power,  of 
the  integrity,  stability,  and  value  of  their  currency.  The 
duties  of  the  government,  of  which  we  have  before  spo- 


164  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

ken,  are  partial  and  limited,  and  extend  only  to  particular 
interests.  This  is  general,  and  covers  every  interest  of 
the  citizen  relating  to  property,  whether  public  or  private, 
local  or  general.  The  two  former  connect  themselves 
immediately  with  the  interests  and  action  of  the  federal 
government,  and  the  appeal,  as  to  them,  is  therefore  more 
appropriately  made  under  this  head.  This  is  universal, 
and  therefore  addresses  itself  to  all  public  servants,  how- 
ever constituted,  and  under  whatever  government,  state 
or  national,  and  by  whatever  authority  they  may  hold 
and  exercise  their  trusts.  We  have  already,  so  far  as  our 
opinions  go,  limited  the  power  of  the  national  govern- 
ment over  this  matter  to  its  necessary  and  constitutional 
action  in  reference  to  the  national  finances.  We  are  not 
now  to  be  understood  as  expressing  an  opinion  in  favor 
of  an  extension  of  that  limit,  but  as  urging  the  duty  with- 
in the  defined  boundary.  That  the  power  exists  to  re- 
quire that  the  currency  of  the  national  treasury  shall  be 
according  to  the  value  of  the  currency  created  and  regu- 
lated by  congress  under  the  express  grant  of  power  con- 
tained in  the  constitution,  no  one,  we  trust,  does  or  can 
doubt.  It  is  the  constant  and  continued  and  unvaried 
exercise  of  that  power  which  we  ask,  and  we  ask  noth- 
ing more.  As  one  of  the  people,  we  think  we  have  a 
right  to  ask,  nay,  to  demand  this  at  the  hands  of  our  pub- 
lic servants,  and  we  do  demand  it.  The  direct  benefits 
will  be  to  save  us  from  loss  in  paying  our  exactions 
to  the  government,  and  in  the  sales  of  our  lands ;  and 
the  consequential  benefits,  in  the  influence  this  course 
on  the  part  of  congress  will  exert  upon  the  legislation  of 
the  states,  and  upon  those  who  now  control  our  cur- 
rency through  the  means  of  the  local  banks,  will  be 
all-sufficient,  at  an  early  day,  to  restore  our  currency 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  165 

to  what  it  has  so  lately  been  and  what  it  ought  to 
be. 

"  We  know  that  it  has  been  asked  by  some,  if  there 
should  be  established  for  the  government  a  better  cur- 
rency than  is  allowed  to  the  people  ?  We  answer,  No ! 
the  thing  is  impossible.  The  currency  of  the  govern- 
ment is  the  currency  of  the  people,  as  the  government 
itself  is  the  government  of  the  people.  If  the  govern- 
ments, state  and  national,  require  a  sound  currency  for 
themselves,  and  provide  for  and  secure  it  by  their  legis- 
lation, that  same  legislation  will  provide  for  and  secure  a 
sound  currency  for  the  people ;  the  currency  provided 
for,  authorized,  and  sustained  by  law  for  the  governments 
will  be  the  currency  of  the  people ;  but  when  either  or 
both  governments  shall  legislate  for  and  permit,  for  their 
uses,  an  unsound  and  depreciated  and  inconvertible  cur- 
rency, the  currency  of  the  people  must  also  be  unsound, 
depreciated,  and  inconvertible.  The  only  control  the 
people  can  exercise  over  the  matter  is  through  their  re- 
spective legislatures,  state  and  national ;  and  if  that  con- 
trol be  exercised  in  favor  of  an  unsound  currency,  the 
government  and  the  people  must  have  an  unsound  cur- 
rency, because  it  is  made  unsound,  or  continued  so,  by 
the  act  of  the  people,  through  their  servants  ;  while,  on 
the  contrary,  if  that  control  be  exercised  in  favor  of  a 
sound  currency,  both  must  and  will  have  a  sound  cur- 
rency, because  both  the  governments  and  the  people 
will  it. 

"  Among  the  responsibilities  of  the  federal  govemment, 
that  of  keeping  safely  the  moneys  collected  from  the  peo- 
ple, so  that  they  may  be  ready,  at  the  calls  of  the  public 
treasury,  without  subtraction  or  depreciation,  stands 
prominent.  At  periods,  when  a  proper  relation  exists 


166  LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

between  the  revenues  collected  and  the  wants  of  the  gov- 
ernment for  expenditures,  this  responsibility  may  be  dis- 
charged without  difficulty  or  danger ;  but,  when  overtra- 
ding in  foreign  merchandise,  or  over-speculation  in  the 
public  lands,  swells  the  sources  of  revenue  greatly  beyond 
the  wants  of  the  government,  it  becomes  one  of  great 
difficulty,  delicacy,  and  hazard.  The  evils  which  destroy 
the  equilibrium  tend  necessarily  to  impair  the  safety  of 
the  ordinary  and  natural  depositories,  the  banks  of  the 
states,  and  offer  temptations  to  unfaithfulness  to  individ- 
ual guardians,  should  such  be  selected. 

"  Another  responsibility  resting  upon  the  national  gov- 
ernment is  that  of  guarding  and  preserving,  even  beyond 
the  reach  of  just  suspicion  at  home  or  abroad,  the  credit 
of  the  United  States,  as  a  body  politic.  This  high  trust 
can  be  but  very  imperfectly  discharged,  and  cannot  be 
discharged  at  all  to  the  benefit  of  the  people,  for  any  length 
of  time,  with  a  disordered  and  depreciated  currency  sanc- 
tioned by  its  authority. 

"  Our  limits  will  not  permit  us  to  go  farther  in  the  enu- 
meration of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  imposed  upon 
the  national  government,  by  the  present  state  of  our  mon- 
etary affairs,  inasmuch  as  it  remains  for  us  to  consider 
what  can  be  done  to  remedy  existing  evils,  and  to  restore 
a  better  condition  of  things.  We  shall  be  best  able  to 
make  ourselves  intelligible  to  our  readers,  in  this  part  of 
the  inquiry,  by  first  reviewing,  very  concisely,  what  has 
been  done  upon  all  former  occasions  of  trouble  and  diffi- 
culty. 

"  The  constitution  of  the  United  States  was  finally  rat- 
ified by  the  states,  and  took  effect  as  a  system  of  govern- 
ment on  the  4th  of  March,  1789.  At  that  time  the 
country  was  severely  oppressed  from  heavy  debts,  both 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  167 

national  and  state,  an  entire  derangement  of  the  curren- 
cy, and  a  great  depression  of  public  credit,  all  consequent 
upon  the  war  of  the  revolution.  In  1791  a  national  bank 
was  resorted  to  as  a  means  of  extrication  from  all  these 
evils.  A  charter  for  a  national  bank  was  granted  for  a 
term  of  twenty  years,  and  that  institution  became  the  de- 
pository of  the  public  moneys  and  the  fiscal  agent  of  the 
treasury  during  its  existence.  The  charter  expired  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1811.  Twenty  years' experience  of 
the  benefits  and  evils  of  such  an  institution  had  been 
given  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  during  the 
whole  time  the  magnitude  of  the  public  debt,  the  difficul- 
ties with  the  most  powerful  of  the  nations  of  Europe,  the 
want  of  capital  at  home  to  improve  the  resources  of  the 
country,  and  the  almost  universal  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ment resting  both  upon  the  governments,  state  and  na- 
tional, and  upon  the  individual  citizens,  gave  the  benefits 
the  fullest  possible  opportunity  for  favorable  appreciation. 
Still  the  evils  preponderated,  in  the  judgment  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  an  extension  of  the  charter  was  refused,  and  that 
too  when  it  was  most  palpable  that  we  were  on  the  eve 
of  a  war  with  Great  Britain.  From  this  time  until  1816, 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury  was  the  keeper,  under  the 
direction  of  the  president,  of  the  national  treasure,  and  the 
state  banks  were  made  by  him  the  fiscal  agents  of  the  public 
treasury.  During  this  period  we  passed  through  our  sec- 
ond British  war,  with  a  triumph  to  our  national  valor  and 
national  honor  of  which  every  American  is  justly  proud. 
An  extensive  derangement  of  our  currency  and  a  large 
addition  to  our  national  debt,  were  among  the  conse- 
quences of  this  foreign  war,  and  these  consequences 
drew  after  them  a  very  considerable  depression  of  na- 
tional credit. 


168  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

"  Again  a  national  bank  was  pressed,  as  the  only  effec- 
tual panacea  for  these  evils ;  and  in  1816  another  charter 
for  such  an  institution,  to  continue  for  the  term  of  twen- 
ty years,  was  obtained  from  congress.  This  institution 
also  became,  at  once,  the  depository  of  the  public  moneys 
and  the  fiscal  agent  of  the  federal  treasury.  Again  the 
American  people  were  favored  with  twenty  years'  expe- 
rience of  the  good  and  evil  of  a  national  bank,  and  again 
their  verdict  pronounced  the  evil  immensely  to  prepon- 
derate, and  commanded  their  representatives  to  put  an 
end  to  the  institution.  This  second  charter  expired  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1836,  and  since  that  time  the  state 
banks  have  again  been  made  the  depositories  of  the  pub- 
lic treasure  and  the  fiscal  agents  of  the  public  treasury. 
A  selected  number  of  these  institutions  first  received  this 
high  trust  from  executive  order  and  regulation  only,  but 
a  subsequent  law  of  congress  sanctioned  and  adopted  the 
system,  and  prescribed  rules  and  limitations  for  it.  It  is 
important  for  us  to  notice  but  a  single  provision  of  this  law, 
and  that  provision  is,  that  no  bank  note  shall  be  received 
in  payment  of  dues  to  the  government,  or  paid  out  in  dis- 
charge of  debts  due  from  the  government,  which  is  not 
convertible  into  gold  and  silver  coin  at  the  will  and  pleas- 
ure of  the  holder. 

"  Under  this  law,  with  this  provision  incorporated  in  it, 
all  the  existing  deposite  banks  accepted  their  high  trust 
to  the  government  and  people  of  the  country,  and  re- 
ceived some  forty  millions  of  the  public  treasure ;  and 
yet,  strange  to  tell,  before  a  single  twelvemonth  had 
passed  away,  they  all  refuse  to  pay  gold  and  silver  for 
their  notes.  Nay,  more  and  farther  and  worse,  they  even 
refuse  to  pay  to  the  government  any  thing  but  their  own 
irredeemable  bank  notes,  those  notes  which  the  law  above 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  169 

mentioned  prohibits  the  officers  of  the  government  from 
either  receiving  or  paying  out,  for  the  millions  intrusted 
to  their  safe-keeping.  Still  farther,  the  drafts  of  the 
treasurer  of  the  United  States,  drawn  upon  a  depos- 
ite  bank  for  a  mere  trust  fund,  belonging  "to  individual 
citizens,  which  fund  was  by  the  government  imported 
from  abroad  in  gold  and  silver,  and  in  gold  and  silver 
placed  in  that  bank  for  safe-keeping,  have  been  dishonor- 
ed and  returned  without  payment,  because  the  holder  of 
the  drafts  would  not  receive  the  irredeemable  bills  of  that 
bank  in  satisfaction. 

"  These  violations  of  law  and  contract  by  the  deposite 
banks  have  compelled  an  extraordinary  convocation  of 
congress,  that  measures  may  be  adopted  to  relieve  the 
treasury  from  the  embarrassments  resting  upon  it  from 
the  provisions  of  the  deposite  law,  and  the  failure  of  the 
banks  to  comply  with  their  obligations. 

"  What  ought  congress  to  do  ?  is  the  great  question. 
Can  a  national  bank  be  resorted  to,  even  if  it  could  rem- 
edy the  evils  we  suffer  ?  Twice  such  an  institution  has 
been  tried,  and  twice  have  the  people  pronounced  their 
verdict  that  it  shall  not  have  existence  within  our  con- 
federacy ;  that  its  powers  to  produce  expansions  and 
contractions  in  the  currency,  and  overtradings,  specula- 
tions, panics,  and  pressures,  are  much  superior  to  its 
powers  to  regulate,  restrain,  or  sustain  our  circulating 
medium  ;  that  the  political  dangers  and  evils  arising  from 
it  to  the  purity  and  stability  of  our  free  institutions,  far 
outweigh  any  promise  of  benefits  ;  that  the  constitution  of 
the  United  States  has  not  conferred  upon  congress  any 
power  to  charter  such  an  institution,  and  that  no  such 
charter  shall  emanate  from  the  hands  of  their  representa- 
tives. The  voice  in  which  this  last  verdict  was  so  dis- 


170  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WEIGHT. 

tinctly  and  clearly  pronounced,  yet  sounds  in  our  ears, 
and  warns  us  against  repeating  this  doubly-condemned 
experiment. 

"  Shall  the  state  banks  be  further  continued  as  public 
depositories  and  fiscal  agents  of  the  treasury?  Shall 
millions  more  be  intrusted  to  these  institutions  which  re- 
fuse to  respond  for  what  they  have  received  for  safe- 
keeping, except  by  their  own  irredeemable  and  faithless 
promises  to  pay  ?  Shall  congress  recede  from  the  ground 
it  has  taken,  that  the  debts  of  the  nation  shall  be  paid  in 
a  currency  equivalent  to  specie,  and  convertible  into  spe- 
cie at  the  will  of  the  holder  ?  Shall  it  legalize  as  curren- 
cy, and  establish  as  the  circulating  medium  of  the  national 
treasury,  the  irredeemable  notes  of  the  state  banks,  and 
import  gold  and  silver  from  other  countries  to  be  ex- 
changed for  such  a  miserable  representative  of  money  ? 
We  have,  as  yet,  heard  no  such  claim  preferred  in  favor 
of  these  banks,  from  any  quarter,  and  we  will  not  stop  to 
argue  a  position  which  seems  to  be  so  plain,  as  that 
these  banks  have  forfeited  all  further  confidence  from 
the  treasury,  and  cannot  be  relied  upon  as  its  fiscal 
agents. 

"What,  then,  can  congress  do  ?  We  answer,  try  the 
yet  untried  expedient.  Produce  a  perfect  and  entire  sep- 
aration between  the  finances  of  the  nation  and  all  the 
banks  of  issue,  or  discount,  however  or  by  whatever  au- 
thority existing  ;  between  the  national  treasury  and  those 
artificial  creations  of  legislation  upon  which  we  have 
hitherto  so  unfortunately  attempted  to  depend.  We  have 
tried  the  faith  of  these  soulless  existences,  in  all  their 
forms  of  being,  and  that  faith  has  always  failed  us  in  the 
hour  of  utmost  need.  Now  let  us  try  the  faith  of  nat- 
ural persons,  of  moral,  accountable  agents,  of  freemen 


LIFE    OP   SILAS    WRIGHT.  171 

Let  congress  trust  the  safe-keeping  of  the  public  treasure 
with  citizens,  as  such,  and  not  as  bank  corporators ;  with 
men  responsible  to  itself,  and  not  to  a  moneyed  institu- 
tion. Let  collections  into  the  national  treasury  be  col- 
lections of  money,  or  its  equivalent,  not  of  irredeemable 
paper;  and  when  the  government  owes  a  citizen,  let 
him,  for  that  debt,  be  able  to  obtain  money,  or  its  equiva- 
lent, and  not  inconvertible  bank  notes. 

"  We  are  told,  and  no  doubt  truly,  that  the  connection 
between  the  public  treasury  and  the  banks  has  aided  to 
produce  the  excesses  we  now  so  deeply  deplore.  Let  not 
the  treasury  again  contribute  its  agency  to  such  severe 
inflictions  upon  the  people.  When  duties  are  to  be  paid 
to  the  government,  let  them  be  paid  in  fact,  not  practical- 
ly credited  by  a  system  of  deposite  in  banks  which  ena- 
bles the  merchant  to  withdraw  with  one  hand  what  he 
places  in  the  bank  with  the  other.  If  lands  are  sold,  let 
the  money  paid  for  them  be  retained  by  the  government 
to  which  it  belongs,  until  its  wants  shall  call  for  its  use. 
Explode  the  mischievous  doctrine,  now  so  generally  pro- 
mulgated, that  the  merchant,  or  the  speculator,  has  a 
right  to  the  use  of  every  dollar  of  money  in  the  national 
treasury;  and,  when  overtrading  shall  unduly  increase 
the  revenue  from  customs,  or  mad  speculations  swell  the 
amounts  received  for  sales  of  lands,  let  the  accumulations 
of  cash  capital  in  the  treasury  check  these  excesses,  be- 
fore their  bitter  fruits  are  realized,  as  now,  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  credit,  the  derangement  and  depreciation  of  the 
currency,  the  depression  of  property,  and  the  prostration 
of  business  generally." 

In  pursuance  of  the  proclamation  of  the  president,  con- 
gress convened  on  the  4th  of  September.  The  first  mes- 
sage of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  congress  must  be  in  the  recol- 


172  LIFE    OF    BII.AS    WRIGHT. 

lection  of  every  reader.  He  recommended  an  entire 
dissolution  of  all  connection  between  the  government  and 
the  banks.  There  was  then  an  existing  law  forbidding 
the  collectors  of  the  national  revenue  to  receive  any 
thing  in  payment  but  gold  and  silver  coin,  or  the  bills  of 
banks  convertible  at  the  will  of  the  holder  into  specie,  at 
the  place  where  they  were  offered  in  payment  to  the  offi- 
cers of  the  government.  As  at  that  time  no  banks  in  the 
United  States  paid  specie  for  their  notes,  no  collections 
could  be  made.  The  president,  therefore,  recommended 
the  issue  of  treasury  notes  for  the  payment  of  the  dues 
from  the  government,  and  which  should  be  receivable  for 
debts  due  the  United  States  treasury.  Mr.  Wright,  as 
chairman  of  the  finance  committee,  on  the  14th  of  Sep- 
tember reported  to  the  senate  a  bill  for  establishing  an 
independent  treasury.  As  the  bill  was  drawn,  the  treas- 
urer was  not  forbidden  to  receive  the  bills  of  specie-pay- 
ing banks.  Mr.  Calhoun  declared  he  could  not  support 
this  bill  unless  a  clause  was  inserted  in  it,  prohibiting  the 
officers  of  the  government  from  receiving  any  thing  in 
payment  of  the  revenue  except  coin,  and  moved  an 
amendment  to  that  effect,  which  was  afterwards  known 
as  the  "  specie  clause."  The  amendment  was  accepted 
by  Mr.  Wright.  In  this  form  the  bill  passed  the  senate, 
though  it  encountered  a  furious  opposition  from  the  whigs, 
and  was  also  opposed  by  Mr.  Tallmadge  and  Mr.  Rives, 
two  of  the  democratic  members.  The  vote  on  the  final 
passage  of  the  bill  was  26  to  20.  In  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives it  was  laid  on  the  table,  so  that  it  failed  of  be- 
coming a  law  during  that  session. 

Mr.  Wright  also  reported  a  bill  authorizing  the  issue 
of  treasury  notes  to  the  amount  of  ten  millions  of  dollars, 
which,  after  a  vigorous  opposition  in  both  houses,  (the 


LIFE    OF   SILAS    WRIGHT.  173 

whigs  preferring  a  loan  to  the  issue  of  treasury  notes,) 
was  passed  into  a  law. 

At  the  regular  session  in  December,  1837,  Mr.  Wright 
again  introduced  the  independent  treasury  bill.  Long 
and  able  discussions  followed,  in  which  he  took  a  distin- 
guished part.  The  ground  taken  by  him  was,  that  it  was 
then  demonstrated  that  the  state  banks  could  not  be  re- 
lied  on  as  the  fiscal  agents  of  the  national  government, 
because,  among  other  things,  that  government  had  no 
constitutional  power  of  controlling  them,  and  therefore 
the  true  question  was,  between  the  establishment  of  a 
treasury  by  the  government,  or  chartering  a  national 
bank.  He  and  many  of  those  with  whom  he  acted  be- 
lieved the  latter  measure  unconstitutional ;  and  of  course, 
in  their  judgment,  the  passage  of  the  bill  he  had  intro- 
duced was  the  only  remedy  to  which  they  could  have  re- 
course. He  insisted  there  was  no  middle  ground  between 
these  measures.  . 

The  specie  clause  in  the  bill  before  the  senate  was 
stricken  out  by  a  strong  vote  before  it  passed  that  body ; 
but  notwithstanding  this  alteration,  like  its  predecessor,  it 
was  laid  on  the  table  in  the  house  of  representatives, 
where  it  remained  till  the  session  terminated. 

The  same  bill,  without  the  specie  clause,  was  brought 
forward  at  the  next  session,  (1838-9,)  and  again  failed  of 
becoming  a  law.  But  the  elections  for  members  of  the 
twenty-sixth  congress  resulted  in  the  choice  of  a  majority 
in  favor  of  the  independent  treasury,  and  at  the  latter 
part  of  that  session,  a  law  for  the  establishment  of  an  in- 
dependent treasury,  without  the  specie  clause,  passed  both 
Houses  of  congress,  and  was  approved  by  the  president 
on  the  fourth  day  of  July,  1840. 

During  the  winter  of  1838,  the  subject  of  slavery  was 


174  LIFE    OF    SILA8    WRIGHT. 

agitated,  and  "  on  the  10th  day  of  Jan.  1838,"  says  Mr. 
Jenkins,  in  his  biography  of  Silas  Wright,  "  Mr.  Wright 
voted  with  Mr.  Clay  and  others,  in  favor  of  a  resolution 
declaring  that  any  interference  on  the  part  of  the  citi- 
zens of  other  states  with  the  District  [of  Columbia]  en- 
dangered the  rights  of  the  citizens  of  such  district,  viola- 
ted the  implied  faith  in  which  the  cession  was  made  by 
Maryland  and  Virginia,  and  would  disturb  and  endanger 
the  Union." 

We  think  this  resolution  was  wrong  in  principle  ; 
but  whether  wrong  or  right,  the  fact  that  Mr.  Clay  voted 
for  it  ought  not  to  affect  the  merits  of  Mr.  Wright's  vote. 
Probably  Mr.  Jenkins  did  not  so  intend,  and  we  call  at- 
tention to  it  for  the  purpose  of  remarking,  that  it  affords 
no  justification  or  excuse,  as  some  persons  affect  to  be- 
lieve, for  a  statesman  to  vote  for  a  wrong  measure,  by 
showing  that  an  eminent  political  opponent  voted  for  the 
same  measure. 

Mr.  Rives,  of  Virginia,  probably  encouraged  by  the 
success  of  this  motion,  offered  a  similar  resolution  in  re- 
gard to  slavery  in  territories  other  than  the  District  of 
Columbia,  and  which  further  declared  that  the  people  of 
those  territories  had  the  exclusive  right  to  determine 
themselves  on  the  question  of  slavery ;  but  Mr.  Wright 
voted  against  this  resolution. 

On  his  return  from  congress  in  March,  1839,  enter- 
tainments were  tendered  to  Mr.  Wright  at  Harrisburg, 
where  the  Pennsylvania  legislature  was  then  in  session, 
and  at  the  city  of  New  York.  These  public  testimonials 
of  respect  he  declined,  and  hastened  home,  anxious  to 
quit  the  excitements  and  the  bustle  of  political  life  for 
the  quiet  enjoyment  of  the  society  of  his  family,  and  his 
old  neighbors  and  friends.  He  spent  the  summer  during 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  175 

the  recess  of  congress  at  Canton,  and  although  he  had 
declined  the  honors  and  festivities  offered  him  at  the  cap- 
ital of  the  great  state  of  Pennsylvania,  and  by  the  great- 
est city  on  the  continent  of  North  America,  situated  in 
his  own  state,  yet  when  his  plain  and  honest  neighbors  at 
Canton  requested  him  to  deliver  an  address  to  them  on 
the  FOURTH  DAY  OF  JULY,  this  great  statesman,  to  whom 
senators  listened  with  profound  respect,  did  not  refuse  to 
comply  with  the  request  of  his  friends  and  neighbors — 
the  citizens  of  a  country  village.  At  that  time,  besides  his 
domestic  avocations,  great  and  important  public  meas- 
ures must  have  occupied  every  moment  he  could  devote 
to  serious  thinking.  His  compliance  therefore  must  have 
subjected  him  to  much  inconvenience ;  but  Silas  Wright 
was  not  the  man  to  disregard  the  wishes  of  old  friends. 
We  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  a  copy  of  this 
address.*  We  confess  we  were  agreeably  disappointed 


*  The  following  is  a  copy  of  Mr.  Wright's  reply  to  Judge  Jenison,  the 
Hon.  J.  Leslie  Russell,  and  others,  who  requested  a  copy  of  his  address 
for  publication.  It  shows  the  extreme  reluctance  with  which  he  consent- 
ed to  the  publication,  as  well  as  the  delivery  of  an  oration  on  that  occasion. 

CANTON,  13th  July,  1839. 

GENTLEMEN  : — Your  note  of  the  10th  instant,  requesting  a  copy  of  the 
address  delivered  by  me  on  the  4th,  in  conformity  with  your  request,  for 
the  purpose  of  publication,  was  placed  in  my  hands  this  morning.  The 
reluctance  which  I  expressed  as  to  a  compliance  with  your  request  to  de- 
liver the  address  was  unfeigned,  but  was  overcome  by  your  presentation 
of  the  claims  which  my  fellow-citizens  of  our  county,  and  especially  of 
our  town,  could,  of  right,  make  upon  me  in  a  matter  of  this  sort. 

Your  present  request,  being  preferred  on  the  same  grounds,  must  meet 
the  same  compliance  from  me,  a  compliance,  I  beg  you  to  believe,  gen- 
tlemen, however  much  it  may  impeach  my  appreciation  of  my  obligations 
to  the  best  of  friends,  and  the  most  faithful  of  constituents,  even  more  re- 
luctantly yielded  than  was  that  to  your  first  call. 


176  LIFE    OP   SILAS    WRIGHT. 

in  reading  it ;  we  thought  that  the  subjects  to  which  he 
would  be  confined  in  addressing  a  mixed  audience,  com- 
posed of  persons  of  all  sects  in  religion  and  all  parties  in 
politics,  would  prevent  even  Silas  Wright  from  producing 
any  thing  which  would  not,  in  some  respects,  be  tiresome. 
But  though  the  truisms  in  the  address  under  considera- 
tion are  old,  they  are  presented  in  such  a  new  and  agree- 
able shape  that  they  cannot  fail  to  gratify  a  reader,  not- 
withstanding his  taste  may  be  somewhat  fastidious.  For 
ourselves,  although  we  recognised  some  of  the  orator's 
positions  as  of  long  standing,  we  were  as  delighted  on 
encountering  them  here,  as  one  is*  to  meet  with  old  friends. 

Mr.  Wright,  after  an  eloquent  allusion  to  the  great 
events  intended  to  be  celebrated  by  the  exercises  and  fes- 
tivities of  the  day,  says  : 

"  It  is  believed  to  be  a  common  and  prevalent  error  of 
our  people  of  the  present  day,  to  pay  too  little  regard  to 
the  civil  events  of  the  American  Revolution,  as  contra- 
distinguished from  the  military ;  to  consider  that  revolu- 
tion as  perfected  at  the  termination  of  hostilities  and  the 
treaty  of  peace ;  to  rejoice  with  a  just  joy,  at  the  success 
of  our  arms  in  the  great  and  fearful  contest,  and  to  con- 
sider our  present  constitutional  forms  of  government,  state 
and  national,  as  having  followed  of  course,  and  as  neces- 
sary consequences,  from  our  military  success.  If  this 
belief  be  well  founded,  the  error  is  of  evil  tendency,  and 
its  correction  is  essential  to  a  proper  understanding  of 

A  copy  of  the  address  accompanies  this  reply,  and  is  submitted  to  the 
disposition  of  the  committee. 

With  the  highest  respect,  your  fellow-citizen, 

SILAS  WRIGHT,  Jr. 
Hon.  MINET  JKMKON-,  and  others, 

Committee  of  Arrangements,  &c> 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  177 

our  national  constitution,  and  of  the  rights  and  duties  of 
the  citizens  under  it." 

He  then  proceeds  to  sketch  a  lively  picture  of  the  civil 
condition  of  the  old  thirteen  colonies,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  their  political  posi- 
tion as  states  at  the  close  of  it.  He  next  gives  a  succinct 
but  clear  view  of  the  articles  of  the  old  confederation, 
and  briefly  points  out  their  fatal  defects.  He  then  details 
rapidly  the  history  of  the  formation  and  action  of  the 
constitutional  convention  in  1788-9,  and  exhibits  in  bold 
relief  the  difficulties  which  the  members  of  that  assembly 
had  to  encounter,  and  the  sacrifices  that  each  state  was 
compelled  to  make  to  the  interests  or  prejudices  of  other 
states  or  sections  of  the  countryi  These  were  called 
the  "  compromises"  of  the  constitution.  "  That  our  con- 
stitution," says  Mr.  Wright,  "  might  have  been  more  per- 
fect, is  quite  possible.  That  it  was  not  vastly  more  im- 
perfect, is  matter  of  just  wonder  and  astonishment,  as  it 
ought  to  be  of  the  most  profound  thankfulness  to  every 
American  heart."  The  great  points  for  discussion  in  that 
august  assembly,  Mr.  Wright  happily  sums  up  as  follows : 

"  1.  The  establishment  of  a  national  government,  com- 
petent to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  Union  by  its  own 
powers. 

"  2.  The  division  of  the  powers  conferred  upon  that 
government  into  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
branches. 

"  3.  The  mode  of  constituting  the  legislative  branch, 
whether  in  one  or  two  houses,  the  manner  in  which  the 
members  of  each  should  be  elected,  or  appointed,  and 
their  terms  of  service. 

"  4.  The  formation  of  the  executive  branch,  whether 
of  one  or  more  persons,  the  source  from  which  it 
12 


178  LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

should  derive  its  election,  or  appointment,  and  its  official 
term. 

"  5.  The  organization  of  the  judicial  branch,  its  official 
tenure,  its  jurisdiction  and  powers,  and  the  manner  of 
carrying  its  decisions  into  effect. 

"  G.  The  enumeration  and  specification  of  the  powers 
which  must  be  granted  by  the  states,  and  the  people,  to 
a  common  government,  to  enable  it  to  accomplish  the 
objects  proposed. 

"  7.  The  ratio  of  representation  of  the  people  and  the 
states  in  either  or  both  houses  of  the  legislative  branch 
of  that  common  government,  and  how  far  popular,  and 
how  far  state  representation  should  constitute  both,  or 
either. 

"8.  The  basis  upon  which  popular  representation 
should  be  established,  throughout  all  the  states,  for  federal 
purposes." 

After  speaking  of  the  sacrifices  of  political  power  by 
the  large  states  to  the  smaller  ones,  in  giving  the  latter 
an  equal  representation  in  one  branch  of  the  national  le- 
gislature, which  Mr.  Wright  regards  as  one  of  the  com- 
promises, he  says  : 

"  We,  fellow-citizens,  are  inhabitants  of  the  most  pop- 
ulous state  in  the  Union.  Do  we  regret  that  the  com- 
promises are  made  ?  That  so  much  of  our  just  relative 
strength  in  the  national  government  was  surrendered  to 
secure  so  great  an  object  ?  Would  we  now  consent  to 
bring  the  least  possible  danger  upon  this  glorious  system 
of  government  by  any  effort  to  regain  what  was  thus 
generously  yielded  ?  Would  we  even  consent  to  agitate 
the  subject  to  the  serious  disquiet  of  the  Union,  or  of  our 
sister  states  interested  ?  At  the  time  of  the  adoption  of 
the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  New  York  was 


LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT.  179 

among  the  class  of  the  most  populous  states,  but  several 
were  more  populous.  Under  the  benign  influence  of  that 
constitution  it  is  that  she  has  reached  her  present  envia* 
ble  height  in  population,  wealth,  and  prosperity,  and  cer- 
tainly we  shall  not  be  the  portion  of  her  population  who 
will  set  the  example  of  placing  in  jeopardy  an  invaluable 
good  by  the  uncertain  and  ungracious  pursuit  of  an  ad- 
vantage unimportant  in  the  comparison.  To  propose 
amendments  to  the  constitution  in  a  constitutional  man- 
ner, and  urge  their  adoption  by  the  fair  exercise  of  truth 
and  reason,  is  a  right  derived  from  the  instrument  itself; 
but  beyond  that,  the  compromises  through  which  that 
charter  of  our  liberties  and  rights  was  obtained  should 
be  as  sacredly  regarded  as  the  charter  itself." 

The  slave  representation  and  the  slave  question  Mr. 
Wright  regards  as  one  of  the  compromises  of  the  con- 
stitution, and  he  protests  against  any  interference  what- 
ever with  the  people  of  those  states.  He  implores 
his  audience  not  to  tolerate  any  prejudice  against  the 
South  in  consequence  of  their  exercising  their  consti- 
tutional rights  in  holding  slaves.  This  admirable  ad- 
dress closes  with  the  following  elegant  and  impressive 
peroration : 

"  If  there  be  those  among  us,  who,  misled  by  a  mista- 
ken sympathy,  or  by  sudden  excitement,  upon  any  sub- 
ject, are  forgetting  their  obligations  to  the  whole  country, 
to  the  constitution,  and  the  Union,  let  us  use  every  effort 
of  persuasion  and  example  to  awaken  them  to  a  sense  of 
their  dangerous  error.  If  those,  who,  for  the  sake  of  pri- 
vate interest,  personal  ambition,  or  momentary  political 
success,  are  willing  to  experiment  upon  the  public  pas- 
sions, to  treat  lightly  their  constitutional  obligations,  to 
foment  sectional  jealousies,  and  raise  up  geographical 


180  Ml'i:    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

distinctions  within  the  Union,  let  the  absence  of  our 
countenance  and  support  convince  such,  that  the  per- 
sonal gratification,  or  public  services  of  any  living  man, 
are  not  objects  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  be  gained  at 
the  expense  of  the  harmony  of  the  country,  the  peace  of 
the  Union,  or  a  single  letter  in  the  list  of  our  constitu- 
tional duties.  If  among  us  there  be  any,  which  Heaven 
forbid,  who  are  prepared,  for  any  earthly  object,  to  dis- 
member our  confederacy,  and  destroy  that  constitution 
which  binds  us  together,  let  the  fate  of  an  Arnold  be 
theirs,  and  let  the  detestation  and  scorn  of  every  Ameri- 
can be  their  constant  companions,  until,  like  him,  they 
shall  abandon  a  country  whose  rich  blessings  they  are  no 
longer  worthy  to  enjoy. 

"  Towards  foreigners,  and  foreign  nations,  let  our  con- 
duct be  governed  by  the  strict  rule  of  right.  Let  our 
every  duty,  arising  under  the  laws  of  nations,  or  the  obli- 
gations of  treaties,  be  promptly  and  punctiliously  per- 
formed ;  and  then,  neither  claiming  nor  attempting  to 
exercise  a  right  to  interfere  in  their  internal  affairs,  or  to 
control  their  civil  and  political  institutions,  let  us  give 
them,  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances,  to  under- 
stand that  we  neither  ask,  nor  will  receive,  any  such 
interference  from  them. 

"  Thus  demeaning  ourselves  as  citizens  of  the  repub- 
lic, and  of  the  great  commonwealth  of  nations,  if  the 
time  must  come,  when  our  proud  temple  of  freedom 
must  fall,  crushed  by  external  violence,  or  rent  asunder 
by  internal  dissensions,  let  the  freemen  of  New  York  sus- 
tain, erect  and  unbroken,  that  pillar  of  the  structure  com- 
mitted to  their  keeping,  that,  when  every  other  may  be 
prostrate,  and  scattered  over  the  face  of  our  fair  land,  ;: 
mass  of  shapeless  ruins,  it  may  stand  a  monument  of 


LIFE    OP    SILAS    WRIGHT.  181 

their  fidelity  to  the  perfect  edifice,  and  of  their  unyield- 
ing attachment  to  constitutional  liberty." 

Mr.  Van  Buren  had  been  unanimously  nominated  for 
re-election  at  the  election  in  1840.  The  canvass  was 
warm  and  animated,  but  resulted  in  the  election  of  Gen. 
Harrison  by  a  large  majority.  During  the  recess  of  con- 
gress previous  to  the  election,  Mr.  Wright  devoted  much 
of  his  time  and  great  talents  in  delivering  addresses  to 
popular  assemblies,  in  favor  of  the  re-election  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren.  His  political  zeal  on  this  occasion  was  rendered 
more  ardent  by  his  pride  as  a  New  Yorker,  and  private 
and  personal  friendship  for  Mr.  Van  Buren. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  a  period  when  the  political 
history,  which  was  published  in  1842,  and  to  which  we 
have  frequently  referred,  closes.  In  our  next  chapter  we 
therefore  shall  resume  the  political  history  of  the  state, 
and  continue  it  down  to  the  close  of  Mr.  Wright's  ad- 
ministration as  governor,  at  the  end  of  the  year  1846. 
Mr.  Wright's  public  life,  especially  the  last  four  years  of 
it,  is  so  intimately  blended  with  the  history  of  the  politi- 
cal parties  which  existed  during  that  period,  that  we  can- 
not, as  we  conceive,  write  the  history  of  the  one  without 
the  other. 


182  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Continuation  of  the  Political  History  of  the  State  of  New  York— Cata- 
logue of  the  Senators — Whig  and  Democratic  Caucuses  for  nomination 
of  Speaker — P.  B.  Porter,  Jr.  chosen  Speaker — Governor's  Message — 
General  Root's  Resolution  to  amend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States — Virginia  Controversy — The  Glentworth  Fraud — Removal  of 
Robert  H.  Morris  from  the  Office  of  Recorder  of  New  York— Freder- 
ick A.  Tallmadge  appointed  his  successor — Proceedings  on  the  Bill  to 
Abolish  Capital  Punishment — Bill  for  the  appointment  of  County  Su- 
perintendents of  Common  Schools — John  C.  Spencer — His  talents  and 
labors — E.  S.  Randall — Francis  Dwight — General  Harrison's  Inaugu- 
ration— His  Cabinet — His  Death — Mr.  Tyler's  Cabinet — John  C.  Spen- 
cer Secretary  of  War — Trial  and  Acquittal  of  Alexander  McLeocl — 
William  Kent  appointed  Circuit  Judge  of  the  First  Circuit— Death  of 
Bates  Cook— Result  of  the  election  in  November,  1841. 

ALTHOUGH  the  electoral  ticket  in  favor -of  Gen.  Harri- 
son had  obtained  a  majority  of  13,202  over  the  demo- 
cratic candidates  for  electors,  the  majority  of  Governor 
Seward  over  Mr.  Bouck,  who  was  the  candidate  of  the 
adverse  party,  was  only  5,203,  and  in  the  popular  branch 
of  the  legislature  the  whigs  barely  obtained  a  majority, — 
for  there  were  66  whigs  and  02  democrats  elected ;  thus 
showing  that  the  whig  strength  in  the  state  had  continued 
steadily  to  decline  since  their  great  success  at  the  elec- 
tion in  the  autumn  of  1837.  Mr.  Bouck,  however,  may 
have  received  rather  more  than  a  strict  party  vote,  by 
means  of  the  strong  vote  for  him  in  his  own  native  coun- 
ty, Schoharie,  and  his  great  popularity  along  the  line  of 
the  Erie  Canal,  where  he  had  so  long  officiated  as  canal 
commissioner. 


1841.]  WHIG    CAUCUS.  183 

The  senate  consisted  of  the  following  persons  : 

1st  District.  Gulian  C.  Verplanck,  Charles  Freeman, 
Minthorn  Tompkins,*  John  B.  Scott.* 

2d.  Henry  A.  Livingston,  Daniel  Johnson,*  John  Hun- 
ter,* Robert  Dennison.* 

3d.  Friend  Humphrey,  Alonzo  C.  Paige,*  Erastus  Root, 
H.  W.  Strong.* 

4th.  Martin  Lee,  Bethuel  Peck,  James  G.  Hopkins, 
John  W.  Taylor. 

5th.  Avery  Skinner,*  Joseph  Clark,*  Sumner  Ely,* 
Henry  A.  Foster.* 

6th.  Laurens  Hull,  Alvah  Hunt,  Andrew  B.  Dickin- 
son, Nehemiah  Platt. 

7th.  John  Maynard,  Robert  C.  Nicholas,  Mark  H. 
Sibley,  Elijah  Rhoads. 

8th.  William  A.  Mosely,  Henry  Hawkins,  Abraham 
Dixon,  Samuel  Works. 

The  gentlemen  whose  names  are  placed  last  in  the  cat- 
alogue from  each  district,  were  chosen  at  the  election  in 
November,  1840.  To  the  name  of  each  democrat  we 
have  placed  a  star,  by  which  it  will  be  seen  that  the  sen- 
ate this  year  consisted  of  21  whigs  and  11  democrats. 
Of  the  members  chosen  at  this  election,  those  from  the 
fourth,  sixth,  seventh,  and  eighth  districts  were  whigs, 
and  in  the  remaining  four  districts  the  democratic  candi- 
dates were  chosen. 

The  legislature  met  on  Tuesday  the  fifth  day  of  Jan- 
uary, but  on  the  evening  previous  a  caucus  of  the  whig 
members  of  the  assembly  was  held  for  the  purpose  of 
nominating  their  officers.  Every  whig  member  elected 
was  in  attendance.  After  organizing,  the  meeting  pro- 
ceeded to  ballot  for  speaker  ;  and  on  canvassing  the  bal- 
lots, it  appeared  that  PETER  B.  PORTER,  Jr.,  of  Niagara 


184  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

county,  nephew  of  Gen.  Peter  B.  Porter,  the  late  secre- 
tary of  war,  had  received  46  votes,  and  John  M.  Holly, 
of  Wayne,  we  presume  a  son  of  the  late  Myron  Holly, 
19.  Mr.  Porter  was  of  course  declared  the  nominee. 
Philander  B.  Prindle,  of  Chenango  county,  the  popular 
clerk  of  the  last  house,  was  unanimously  nominated  clerk. 
On  the  same  evening,  the  democratic  members  held  a 
meeting  for  the  same  purpose  which  had  induced  that  of 
the  whigs,  when  LEVI  S.  CHATFIELD,  of  Otsego,  was 
nominated  for  speaker,  and  William  W.  Van  Zant,  of 
Albany,  for  the  office  of  clerk.  In  the  caucus,  upon  bal- 
loting, Mr.  Chatfield  received  45  votes,  and  Michael  Hoff- 
man 11. 

Upon  the  assembly  being  called  to  order  by  Mr.  Prin- 
dle, on  Tuesday  morning,  Mr.  Porter  received  65  votes, 
and  Mr.  Chatfield  60 ;  whereupon  Mr.  Porter  was  de- 
clared speaker,  and  conducted  to  the  chair,  from  which 
he  briefly  addressed  the  house,  as  is  usual  on  such  occa- 
sions, and  in  an  appropriate  manner.  Immediately  after 
the  organization  of  the  house  by  the  appointment  of  its 
officers,  the  message  of  the  governor  was  announced  and 
read.  It  was  lengthy,  but  was,  as  all  had  anticipated, 
able  and  eloquent.  We  cannot  here  give  even  a  skele- 
ton so  as  to  present,  as  it  were,  in  miniature,  this  elabo- 
rate message,  and  shall  only  attempt  to  exhibit  some  of 
its  more  prominent  features. 

In  relation  to  the  fiscal  concerns  of  the  state,  the  gov- 
ernor stated  that  the  amount  of  duties  on  auction  sales 
received  for  the  last  year  into  the  treasury,  was 
$164,621.38,  and  on  salt,  $155,961.16  ;  that  the  amount 
received  for  duties  on  sales  at  auction  was  $60,780.46 
less  than  had  been  received  the  preceding  year  ;  and  that 
within  the  same  time  there  was  a  falling  off  in  the  re- 


1841.]  STATE  REVENUE,  ETC.  185 

ceipts  for  the  tax  on  salt  of  833,301.96  :  the  auction  duties, 
he  alleged,  were  diminished  in  consequence  of  the  de- 
pression of  commerce  during  the  last  year,  and  that  the 
income  from  the  salt  works  was  reduced  for  the  reason 
that  less  salt  had  been  manufactured.  This  diminution 
in  the  quantity  of  salt  manufactured  he  attributed  to  an 
insufficient  supply  of  salt  water.  He  stated  that  the 
whole  amount  of  tolls  and  for  rent  of  the  surplus  waters 
received  from  all  the  canals  during  the  preceding  year 
was  SI, 608,827.45 ;  that  the  amount  of  charges  for  re- 
pairs and  other  expenses  on  the  canals,  was  8586,011.87  ; 
and  he  expressed  his  gratification  that  the  net  income 
accruing  from  the  canals  during  the  year  1840,  had  in- 
creased 8159,365.55  beyond  the  amount  received  during 
the  year  1839. 

The  governor  stated  that  the  sum  which  had  been 
and  would  be  expended  by  the  first  day  of  March  then 
next,  for  enlarging  the  Erie  Canal,  would  amount  to 
87,538,832  ;  and  that  to  complete  the  enlargement  would 
require  an  additional  expenditure,  according  to  the  "  cor- 
rected" estimate  of  the  canal  commissioners,  of  8 15,573,954. 
This  great  work,  he  thought,  might  be  completed  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  1847. 

With  respect  to  the  Black  River  Canal,  he  informed 
the  legislature  that  $1,180,097.66  had  been  expended 
on  it,  and  that  the  whole  cost  of  the  work  would  be 
82,431,699.29. 

The  whole  expense  of  constructing  the  Genesee  Valley 
Canal,  he  said,  had  been  estimated  at  84,900,122.79,  of 
which  82,500,000  had  already  been  expended. 

He  alluded,  in  terms  of  high  commendation,  to  the  ef- 
forts which  were  being  made  by  the  various  railroad  com- 
panies to  complete  their  respective  enterprises.  And  he 


186  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

stated  that  the  whole  debt  of  the  state  at  that  time,  exclu- 
sive of  its  liabilities  for  incorporated  companies,  and  its 
loans  to  those  companies,  amounted  to  $15,064,746.33. 

Experience  soon  afterwards  proved  that  Gov.  Seward 
placed  too  much  confidence  in  those  chartered  compa- 
nies, especially  the  New  York  and  Erie  Railroad  Com- 
pany, to  whom  the  state  had  loaned  its  moneys  and  its 
credit ;  by  means  of  which  loans  and  liabilities,  the  state 
debt  ultimately  proved  to  be  much  larger  than  he  antici- 


The  governor  rapidly  reviewed  the  condition  of  our 
courts  of  law  and  equity,  and  strongly  recommended  a 
new  organization,  and  a  reform  in  our  system  of  jurispru- 
dence. He  alluded  in  a  very  proper  manner  to  the  con- 
troversy between  him  and  the  governor  of  Virginia,  to 
which  he  had  called  the  attention  of  the  legislature  in  his 
last  annual  message.  He  expressed  a  cordial  approbation 
of  the  late  law  abolishing  imprisonment  for  debt ;  and  as 
imprisonment  for  debt  was  still  tolerated  and  enjoined  by 
the  laws  of  the  United  States,  he  recommended  that  this 
state  should  deny  the  United  States  the  use  of  their  pris- 
ons to  incarcerate  unfortunate  debtors,  unless  such  debt- 
ors have  been  guilty  of  fraud. 

In  view  of  the  short  period  that  the  law  requires  of 
foreigners  to  reside  in  the  state  before 'they  are  entitled 
to  vote  at  our  elections,  the  governor  urges,  with  great 
force,  the  propriety  of  providing  for  the  education  of  the 
children  of  foreigners.  He  alludes  to  the  alarming  fact 
which  appeared  from  the  late  census,  that  there  were  in 
the  state  of  New  York  43,871  white  persons,  over  the 
age  of  twenty,  who  could  neither  read  nor  write.  On 
this  subject  the  governor  says  : 

"  Not  much,  however,  can  be  accomplished  by  legisla- 


1841.]  PUBLIC    INSTRUCTION.  187 

tion,  to  affect  the  relation  between  masses  of  adult  citi- 
zens ;  and  the  change  desired  in  this  respect  must  be  left 
chiefly  to  time  and  the  operations  of  our  institutions.  But 
it  is  not  so  in  regard  to  the  rising  generation.  The  cen- 
sus of  the  United  States  is  said  to  show,  that  there  are 
43,871  white  persons  in  this  state,  who  have  passed  the 
age  of  twenty  years  without  having  learned  to  read  and 
write.  Let  us  make  allowance  for  any  proportion  of 
adult  foreigners,  and  there  yet  remains  a  large  number  of 
uneducated  citizens.  The  number  of  children  now  grow- 
ing up  in  the  same  manner,  does  not  fall  short  of  thirty 
thousand.  These  are  the  offspring,  not  of  prosperity  and 
affluence,  but  of  poverty  and  misfortune. 

"  Knowing  from  the  records  of  our  penitentiaries,  that 
of  this  neglected  class  those  are  most  fortunate  who,  from 
precocity  in  vice,  secure  admission  into  the  house  of  ref- 
uge, or  the  state  prison,  through  the  ways  of  crime  ;  and 
knowing,  too,  that  almost  every  application  for,  pardon  is 
urged  on  the  ground  of  neglected  education,  I  have  felt  it 
an  imperative  duty  to  appeal  to  the  legislature  to  render 
our  system  of  education  as  comprehensive  as  the  purposes 
for  which  it  was  established.  Of  1,058  children  in  the 
almshouse  of  the  city  of  New  York,  one-sixth  part  is  of 
American  parentage,  one-sixth  was  born  abroad,  and  the 
remainder  are  the  children  of  foreigners ;  and  of  250 
children  in  the  house  of  refuge,  more  than  one-half  were 
either  born  abroad,  or  of  foreign  parents.  The  poverty, 
misfortunes,  accidents,  and  prejudices  to  which  foreigners 
are  exposed,  satisfactorily  account,  to  my  mind,  for  the 
undue  proportion  of  their  children  in  the  neglected  class 
to  which  the  attention  of  the  legislature  was  called.  Al- 
though the  excellent  public  schools  in  the  city  of  New 
York  are  open  to  all,  and  have  long  afforded  gratuitous 


188  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

instruction  to  all  who  seek  it,  nevertheless  the  evil  there 
exists  in  its  greatest  magnitude. 

"  Obviously,  therefore,  something  more  is  necessary  to 
remove  it  than  has  yet  been  done,  unless  we  assume  that 
society  consents  to  leave  it  without  remedy.  These  cir- 
cumstances led  me  to  the  reflection,  that  possibly  a  por- 
tion of  those  whom  other  efforts  had  failed  to  reach, 
might  be  brought  within  the  nurture  of  the  schools,  by 
employing  for  their  instruction  teachers  who,  from  their 
relations  towards  them,  might  be  expected  to  secure  their 
confidence.  When  the  census  of  1850  shall  be  taken,  I 
trust  it  will  show,  that  within  the  borders  of  the  state  of 
New  York  there  is  no  child  of  sufficient  years  who  is 
unable  to  read  and  write.  I  am  sure  it  will  then  be  ac- 
knowledged, that  when,  ten  years  before,  there  were  thir- 
ty thousand  children  growing  up  in  ignorance  and  vice, 
a  suggestion  to  seek  them  wherever  found,  and  win  them 
to  the  ways  of  knowledge  and  virtue  by  persuasion,  sym- 
pathy, and  kindness,  was  prompted  by  a  sincere  desire 
for  the  common  good.  I  have  no  pride  of  opinion  con- 
cerning the  manner  in  which  the  education  of  those  whom 
I  have  brought  to  your  notice  shall  be  secured,  although 
I  might  derive  satisfaction  from  the  reflection,  that  amid 
abundant  misrepresentation  of  the  method  suggested,  no 
one  has  contended  that  it  would  be  ineffectual,  nor  has 
any  other  plan  been  proposed.  I  observe,  on  the  contra- 
ry, with  deep  regret,  that  the  evil  remains  as  before  ;  and 
the  question  recurs,  not  merely  how  or  by  whom  shall 
instruction  be  given,  but  whether  it  shall  be  given  at  all, 
or  be  altogether  withheld.  Others  may  be  content  with 
a  system  that  erects  free  schools  and  offers  gratuitous  in- 
struction. But,  I  trust  I  shall  be  allowed  to  entertain  the 
opinions,  that  no  system  is  perfect  that  does  not  accom- 


1841.]  PUBLIC    INSTRUCTION.  189 

plish  what  it  proposes  ;  that  our  system  is  therefore  defi- 
cient in  comprehensiveness,  in  the  exact  proportion  of 
the  children  that  it  leaves  uneducated ;  that  knowledge, 
however  acquired,  is  better  than  ignorance ;  and  that 
neither  error,  accident,  nor  prejudice,  ought  to  be  permit- 
ted to  deprive  the  state  of  the  education  of  her  citizens. 
Cherishing  such  opinions,  I  could  not  enjoy  the  conscious- 
ness of  having  discharged  my  duty,  if  any  effort  had  been 
omitted  which  was  calculated  to  bring  within  the  schools 
all  who  are  destined  to  exercise  the  rights  of  citizenship ; 
nor  shall  I  feel  that  the  system  is  perfect,  or  liberty  safe, 
until  that  object  be  accomplished.  Not  personally  con- 
cerned about  such  misapprehensions  as  have  arisen,  but 
desirous  to  remove  every  obstacle  to  the  accomplishment 
of  so  important  an  object,  I  very  freely  declare,  that  I 
seek  the  education  of  those  whom  I  have  brought  before 
you,  not  to  perpetuate  any  prejudices  or  distinctions 
which  deprive  them  of  instruction,  but  in  disregard  of  all 
such  distinctions  and  prejudices.  I  solicit  their  education 
less  from  sympathy  than  because  the  welfare  of  the  state 
demands  it,  and  cannot  dispense  with  it.  As  native  citi- 
zens, they  are  born  to  the  right  of  suffrage.  I  ask  that 
they  may  at  least  be  taught  to  read  and  write  ;  in  asking 
this,  I  require  no  more  for  them  than  I  have  diligently 
endeavored  to  secure  to  the  inmates  of  our  penitentiaries, 
who  have  forfeited  that  inestimable  franchise  by  crime, 
and  also  to  an  unfortunate  race,  which,  having  been 
plunged  by  us  into  degradation  and  ignorance,  has  been 
excluded  from  the  franchise  by  an  arbitrary  property 
qualification  incongruous  with  all  our  institutions.  I  have 
not  recommended,  nor  do  I  seek  the  education  of  any 
class  in  foreign  languages,  or  in  particular  creeds  or 
faiths  ;  but  fully  believing  with  the  author  of  the  Decla- 


190  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

ration  of  Independence,  that  even  error  may  be  safely 
tolerated  where  reason  is  left  free  to  combat  it ;  and 
therefore  indulging  no  apprehensions  from  the  influence 
of  any  language  or  creed  among  an  enlightened  people,  I 
desire  the  education  of  the  entire  rising  generation  in  all 
the  elements  of  knowledge  we  possess,  and  in  that  tongue 
which  is  the  universal  language  of  our  countrymen.  To 
me  the  most  interesting  of  all  our  republican  institutions, 
is  the  common  school. 

"  I  seek  not  to  disturb,  in  any  manner,  its  peaceful  and 
assiduous  exercises,  and,  least  of  all,  with  contentions 
about  faiths  or  forms.  I  desire  the  education  of  all  the 
children  in  the  commonwealth  in  morality  and  virtue, 
leaving  matters  of  conscience  where,  according  to  the 
principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  established  by  our 
constitution  and  laws,  they  rightfully  belong." 

These  patriotic  and  benevolent  views  of  the  governor 
were  undoubtedly  presented  with  reference  to  a  recom- 
mendation he  had  formerly  made,  that  the  Catholics  in 
this  state  should  be  permitted  to  have  their  children  edu- 
cated in  the  common  branches  by  their  own  teachers,  in 
such  manner  as  they  should  deem  to  be  in  conformity  to 
their  religion ;  and  that  schools  so  conducted  should  be 
entitled  to  their  share  of  the  moneys  appropriated  to  com- 
mon schools.  He  also  recommended  the  enactment  of  a 
registry  law. 

Gov.  Seward  next  proceeds  to  combat,  with  some  se- 
verity, the  financial  views  put  forth  by  Mr.  Flagg.  the 
late  comptroller,  in  his  last  report  from  that  department ; 
but  to  give  even  a  summary  of  the  controversy  in  this 
place  would  entirely  exceed  the  limits  to  which  we  feel 
restricted  in  remarking  on  the  message. 

The  governor  states,  that  although  the  United  States 


1841.]  GEN.  ROOT'S  RESOLUTIONS.  191 

contain  a  population  of  17,000,000,  less  than  one-third  of 
the  land  included  within  the  boundaries  of  these  states  is 
occupied  or  appropriated.  We  may  remark  here,  that  if 
in  1840  two- thirds  of  the  lands  in  the  United  States  were 
unappropriated,  how  vast  must  be  the  quantity  of  unap- 
propriated lands  since  Texas  has  been  annexed,  and  we 
have  acquired  possession  of  the  greater  part  of  Oregon,  to 
say  nothing  of  our  conquests  in  California  and  Mexico! 

The  governor  concludes  by  the  expression  of  a  very 
decided  opinion,  that  the  avails  of  the  sales  of  the  public 
lands  ought  to  be  distributed  among  the  states ;  and  he 
cites,  in  support  of  that  opinion,  the  authority  of  Gov. 
Throop,  Gen.  Jackson,  and  President  Jefferson. 

On  the  5th  day  of  January,  Gen.  Root  introduced  into 
the  senate  resolutions  for  proposing  amendments  to  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  substance  of 
these  resolutions  were, — 

1st.  That  no  person  should  be  eligible  to  the  office 
of  president  of  the  United  States  for  more  than  one 
term. 

3d.  That  members  of  congress  should  not  be  appoint- 
ed to  any  office  under  the  general  government  during  the 
term  for  which  they  were  elected. 

3d.  That  no  person  should  be  removed  from  office 
without  the  consent  of  the  senate. 

4th.  That  the  secretary  of  the  United  States  treasury 
should  be  appointed  by  congress,  and  hold  that  office 
during  their  pleasure. 

These  resolutions  were  laid  on  the  table.  Afterwards, 
when  they  came  up  for  discussion,  they  were  opposed 
by  Mr.  Foster,  and  supported  by  Gen.  Root  and  Mr. 
Dickinson.  A  majority  of  the  senate  agreed  to  the  first 
resolution,  but  postponed  the  consideration  of  the  second 


192  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

until  after  the  4th  day  of  March  then  next.  We  ought 
to  have  mentioned,  that  the  substance  of  these  resolutions 
had  passed  the  senate  on  the  last  day  of  the  preceding 
session,  but  the  assembly,  for  want  of  time,  could  not 
consider  and  discuss  them,  and  for  that  reason  the  con- 
currence' of  that  house  was  not  obtained.  A  different 
state  of  things  now  existed;  Gen.  Harrison  had  been 
elected  president,  and  on  the  4th  of  March  might  desire 
to  call  some  of  the  members  of  congress  into  his  cabinet. 
Indeed,  it  was  then  well  known  that  such  was  his  deter- 
mination. Was  it  civil  or  wise  for  his  whig  friends  in 
New  York  to  pass  in  advance  a  vote  of  censure  on  the 
appointments  of  their  favorite  leader?  How  feeble  is 
principle  when  it  comes  in  competition  with  expediency 
or  interest ! 

In  the  assembly,  Mr.  Townsend,  of  New  York,  on  the 
same  day  gave  notice  of  his  intention  to  bring  in  a  bill 
providing  for  the  division  of  the  towns  and  wards  into 
election  districts,  and  for  holding  the  general  election 
on  one  day  only.  This  great  and  important  measure  was 
ultimately  adopted  by  the  legislature,  and  has  not  only 
added  greatly  to  the  convenience  of  the  electors,  but  has 
very  probably  contributed,  in  no  small  degree,  to  aid  in 
the  preservation  of  the  purity  and  fairness  of  our  elec- 
tions, by  rendering  it  more  difficult  to  perpetrate  some 
of  the  frauds  to  which  the  old  system  was  exposed. 

A  law  had  been  passed  during  the  preceding  session, 
which  required  all  the  voters  in  the  city  of  New  York 
to  be  registered,  under  the  directions  of  commissioners  of 
the  several  wards,  appointed  for  that  purpose,  some  two 
or  three  weeks  before  the  election.  Challenges  were  to 
be  made  before  those  commissioners,  and  the  right  of  vo- 
ting was  settled  and  decided  by  them.  Under  this  ar- 


1841.]  REGISTRY    LAW.  193 

rangement,  the  elector,  on  presenting  his  ballot  to  the 
inspectors  at  the  election  was  entitled  to  vote,  if  his  name 
appeared  on  the  catalogue  made  by  the  commissioners ; 
but  if  his  name  was  not  found  there,  he  was  rejected. 
It  was  argued  that  this  system  would  prevent  much  frau- 
dulent voting,  which  the  hurry  and  confusion  that  gen- 
erally prevailed  on  the  day  of  election,  rendered  it  impos- 
sible to  detect  or  prevent.  This  law,  which  was  called 
"the  Registry  Law,"  was  opposed  with  much  zeal  and 
ardor  by  a  majority  of  the  democratic  party  in  New 
York.  They  contended  that  it  violated  the  spirit,  if  not 
the  letter  of  the  constitution ;  that  it  made  an  invidious 
distinction  between  the  electors  of  that  city  and  those  in 
all  other  parts  of  the  state ;  and  that  it  implied  a  suspi- 
cion of  the  purity  and  honesty  of  the  voters  of  that  city 
which  was  dishonorable  to  the  inhabitants. 

General  Root  entertained  different  views  on  this  sub- 
ject ;  and  as  well  because  he  thought  the  constitutional 
objections  to  the  law  unfounded,  and  that  on  general 
principles  the  law  was  necessary  and  proper,  as  to  obvi- 
ate the  objection  against  partial  and  local  legislation,  to 
which  such  a  law  seemed  exposed,  made  several  efforts 
to  extend  the  provisions  of  the  law  to  the  whole  state. 
Those  efforts,  however,  were  unsuccessful. 

Early  in  this  session,  Mr.  Bates  Cooke  resigned  the 
office  of  comptroller,  in  consequence  of  the  state  of  hte 
health,  and  John  A.  Collier,  of  Broome  county,  late  a 
member  of  congress  and  a  lawyer  of  respectable  stand- 
ing, was  appointed  his  successor. 

It  was  reported  that  George  W.  Patterson,  whom  we 

have  several  times  mentioned,  and  shall  have  occasion  to 

mention  again,  as  a  man  of  distinguished  talent,  and  great 

energy  of  character,  was  a  favorite  candidate  of  many 

13 


194  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

of  the  whig  members  of  the  legislature ;  a  majority,  how- 
ever, were  for  Mr.  Collier,  but  how  large  that  majority 
was  we  have  never  been  informed. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  Mr.  Haight  was  re-elected 
treasurer,  and  Mr.  O.  L.  Holly  was  reappointed  sur- 
veyor-general, of  both  of  whom  we  have  spoken  in  a 
preceding  volume  of  this  work. 

There  were  two  leading  party  questions  which  occu- 
pied much  of  the  time  and  attention  of  this  legislature, 
and  greatly  excited  that  of  the  public.  The  one  was 
what  was  denominated  "  the  Virginia  controversy,"  and 
the  other  the  removal,  by  the  governor  and  senate,  of 
Robert  H.  Morris  from  the  office  of  recorder  of  the  city 
of  New  York.  Besides  these,  the  great  question,  wheth- 
er it  was  right  to  abolish  capital  punishment,  was  debated. 
The  subjects  of  internal  improvements  and  the  financial 
concerns  of  the  state,  were  also  considered  and  debated. 
These  were  not  strictly  party  questions,  but  the  discus- 
sion which  they  elicited  called  forth  vigorous  efforts,  and 
put  in  requisition  the  best  talents  in  the  assembly. 

The  governor,  in  his  annual  message  in  1840,  had  in- 
formed the  legislature  that  'the  governor  of  Virginia  had 
in  July  preceding  made  a  requisition  upon  him  to  deliver 
three  persons,  as  fugitives  from  justice,  charged  with 
having  feloniously  stolen  a  negro  slave  in  that  state ;  that 
he  had  declined  to  comply  with  the  requisition,  upon  the 
ground  that  the  right  to  demand,  and  the  reciprocal  ob- 
ligation to  surrender  fugitives  from  justice  between  sov- 
ereign and  independent  nations,  according  to  the  law  of 
nations,  include  only  those  cases  in  which  the  acts  con- 
stituting the  offence  charged  are  recognised  as  crimes  by 
the  universal  laws  of  civilized  countries  ;  that  the  provi- 
sion in  the  United  States  constitution,  in  relation  to  the 


1841.]  VIRGINIA    CONTROVERSY.  195 

delivery  of  fugitives  charged  with  treason,  felony,  or 
other  crime,  was  a  recognisance  of  this  principle  of  the 
law  of  nations  in  the  mutual  relations  of  the  states  of  the 
Union ;  that  the  act  charged  was  not  recognised  as  crim- 
inal by  the  laws  of  New  York,  or  by  the  laws  of  all 
civilized  countries ;  that  there  was  no  law  in  this  state 
by  which  one  man  could  hold,  or  claim  another  man  as 
property ;  that  therefore  the  crime  of  theft  could  not  be 
predicated  upon  the  act  of  liberating  one  man  from  the 
control  of  another ;  and  that  consequently  the  case  did 
not  fall  within  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States.* 

Governor  Seward,  in  his  message  in  1841,  after  allu- 
ding to  his  communication  to  the  legislature  the  preceding 
year,  on  the  subject  of  the  requisition  of  the  governor 
of  Virginia,  says : 

"  The  governor  of  Virginia,  by  direction  of  the  legis- 
lature of  that  state,  subsequently  transmitted  to  me  cer- 
tain resolutions  of  that  body,  with  a  request  that  I  would 
lay  the  same  before  the  legislature  of  this  state." 

Copies  of  these  resolutions,  together  with  the  corre- 
spondence between  the  two  governors,  and  some  other 
documents  in  relation  to  the  controversy,  were  commu- 
nicated by  Gov.  Seward  to  the  assembly  of  1841,  together 
with  the  message. 

The  first  letter  of  the  governor  of  Virginia  bears  date 
August  30,  1839,  in  which  he  states,  that  "on  the  25th 
of  July  (ult.)  I  received  an  affidavit  signed  by  Miles  King, 
mayor,  and  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  Norfolk  borough  in 
this  state,  in  which  it  was  solemnly  and  positively  aver- 
red on  oath  by  John  G.  Colley,  of  said  borough,  that  on 


See  2  Political  History,  pp.  520,  521. 


190  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [l84L 

or  about  the  15th  of  the  same  month,  Peter  Johnson, 
Edward  Smith,  and  Isaac  Gansey,  attached  to  the  schoon- 
er Robert  Center,  then  in  New  York,  '  did  feloniously 
steal  and  take  from  the  said  C  alley  a  certain  negro  slave 
named  Isaac,  the  property  of  said  Colley;'  and  it  being 
alleged  that  they  were  fugitives  from  justice,  I  thereupon 
made  a  demand  upon  your  excellency  for  the  surrender 
of  them  to  John  Caphart,  an  agent  appointed  for  that 
purpose,  in  order  that  they  might  be  brought  back  to  Vir- 
ginia to  be  tried  for  the  offence  charged  upon  them,  ac- 
cording to  our  laws."  He  concludes  by  complaining  that 
the  fugitives  have  not  been  delivered  according  to  the 
requisition.  To  this  letter  Mr.  Seward  replied  on  the 
16th  of  September.  In  his  reply  he  sets  forth  a  copy  of 
the  affidavit  on  which  the  requisition  was  founded,  which 
is  in  these  words  : — 

"  NORFOLK  BOROUGH,  to  wit : 

'  "  This  day  personally  appeared  before  me,  M.  King,  a 
justice  of  the  peace  of  the  borough  aforesaid,  state  of 
Virginia,  John  G.  Colley,  of  said  borough,  and  made 
oath,  that  on  or  about  the  15th  inst.,  Peter  Johnson,  Ed- 
ward Smith,  and  Isaac  Gansey,  now  attached  to  the 
schooner  Robert  Center,  at  present  in  New  York,  did 
feloniously  steal  and  take  from  the  said  Colley  a  certain 
negro  slave  named  Isaac,  the  property  of  the  said  Colley. 
"  Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  this  twenty-second 
day  of  July,  1839. 

"M.  KING,  Mayor  and  J.  P." 

Gov.  Seward  proceeds  to  state,  that  after  examining 
the  papers  annexed  to  the  requisition  to  authorize  him  to 
direct  that  the  persons  accused  should  be  delivered  to  Mr. 


1841.]  VIRGINIA    CONTROVERSY.  197 

Caphart,  the  agent  of  Virginia,  his  first  impressions  were 
that  the  affidavit  was  defective,  inasmuch  as  it  did  not 
state  that  the  persons  demanded  were  fugitives  from  Vir- 
ginia, or  that  they  were  in  this  state.  He  therefore, 
being  about  to  leave  Albany  on  a  short  journey  to  the 
West,  concluded  to  postpone  deciding  the  case  till  his 
return.  But  before  he  returned,  he  learned  that  the  ac- 
cused persons  had  been  arrested  and  committed  to  jail  in 
New  York,  and  had  been  discharged  by  the  recorder  of 
that  city,  and  he  concluded  that  Mr.  Caphart  had  aban- 
doned the  application.  The  governor  proceeds  to  say, 
that  even  if  the  affidavit  was  in  form  technically  correct, 
he  was  of  opinion  that  it  was  in  substance  defective,  for 
the  reasons  stated  in  his  message,  and  which  therefore  it 
is  unnecessary  to  repeat. 

"  It  results,"  says  Gov.  Seward,  "  from  this  view  of  the 
subject,  that  the  offence  charged  in  the  affidavit,  and  spe- 
cified in  the  requisition,  is  not  a  felony  nor  a  '  crime/ 
within  the  meaning  of  the  constitution  ;  and-that  waiving 
all  the  defects  in  the  affidavit,  I  cannot  surrender  the  sup- 
posed fugitives  to  be  carried  to  Virginia  for  trial  under 
the  statute  of  that  state. 

"  So  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  no  state  has  ever 
admitted  the  constitutional  obligation  to  surrender  its 
citizens  beyond  the  limits  I  have  mentioned,  although  de- 
mands have  been  made  in  cases  similar  to  the  one  under 
consideration.  If  I  entertained  doubts  of  the  justness  of 
the  views  I  have  expressed,  I  should  be  very  unwilling  to 
establish  a  precedent  so  full  of  danger  to  the  personal  se- 
curity of  the  citizens  of  this  state." 

Mr.  Seward  adds,  that  he  had  addressed  a  letter  to 
Robert  H.  Morris,  recorder  of  New  York,  with  a  view  of 
ascertaining  the  grounds  upon  which  the  prisoners  were 


198  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [l841. 

discharged.  The  answer  of  Mr.  Morris  contains  a  brief 
but  very  lucid  statement  of  the  case,  and  we  therefore 
present  it  to  the  reader  entire  : 

To  his  Excellency  Gov.  SEWARD  : 

DEAR  SIR — In  the  case  of  the  three  colored  men,  Isaac 
Gansey,  Peter  Johnson,  and  Edward  Smith,  upon  habeas 
corpus,  who  were  discharged  by  me  from  imprisonment 
in  July  or  August  last,  the  facts  as  they  appeared  before 
me  were  as  follows  : 

The  keeper  of  the  prison  returned  that  he  detained  the 
prisoners  by  virtue  of  a  warrant  of  one  of  our  police  ma- 
gistrates. This  warrant  charged  them  with  being  fugi- 
tives from  justice  from  the  state  of  Virginia. 

The  testimony  upon  which  the  warrant  was  issued  was 
affidavits  swearing  to  the  legal  conclusion  that  they  were 
"  fugitives  from  justice."  It  was  also  shown,  that  a  re- 
quisition from  the  executive  of  Virginia  had  been  for- 
warded to  the  governor  of  this  state,  demanding  that  the 
prisoners  should  be  delivered  up  to  the  authorities  of  Vir- 
ginia. 

I  then  examined,  upon  oath,  two  gentlemen  from  Vir- 
ginia who  were  present.  One  of  them  was  the  agent  of 
the  owner  of  the  negro  who  was  alleged  to  have  been 
stolen,  and  the  other  assisted  in  retaking  the  slave.  By 
reference  to  the  papers  before  you  in  this  case,  you  will 
observe,  that  one  or  both  of  these  gentlemen  made  the 
affidavits  upon  which  the  complaint  was  made  in  Vir- 
ginia, against  the  three  persons  claimed  to  be  fugitives. 

These  gentlemen  proved  that  the  slave  was  a  ship- 
carpenter,  employed  in  Virginia  in  repairing  the  schooner 
on  board  of  which  the  three  prisoners  were  hands ;  that 
after  the  schooner  sailed,  the  slave  was  not  to  be  found  ; 


1841.]  VIRGINIA    CONTROVERSY.  199 

thut  they  by  express  reached  the  harbor  of  New  York  be- 
fore the  schooner  arrived ;  that  they  went  on  board  the 
schooner  and  made  known  to  the  captain  their  suspicions 
that  the  slave  was  concealed  on  board.  The  captain  de- 
nied all  knowledge  of  the  slave's  being  on  board,  and  as- 
sisted in  making  search  for  the  slave.  The  slave  was 
found  on  board  concealed  amongst  the  live-oak  timber. 
The'  three  prisoners  were  the  only  colored  persons  on 
board. 

This  was  all  that  these  gentlemen  could  testify  to  of 
their  own  knowledge,  to  show  that  the  three  men  had  sto- 
len the  slave.  As  the  question  involved  much  feeling,  I 
permitted  the  gentlemen  to  prove  what  had  been  told  to 
them  by  others.  One  or  both  of  the  gentlemen  testified 
that  the  slave  informed  them  that  one  of  the  prisoners 
observed  to  him,  (the  slave,)  that  he  was  foolish  to  remain 
in  Virginia,  as  he  could  get  good  wages,  north,  and  that 
this  suggestion  induced  him  to  run  away  and  secrete  him- 
self on  board  the  vessel. 

This  was  all  that  they  pretended  could  be  proved  by 
any  one  else,  that  showed  any  participation  on  the  part 
of  any  of  the  prisoners  in  the  escape  of  the  slave. 

I  permitted  this  kind  of  evidence,  not  as  testimony  in 
the  case,  but  to  learn  whether  there  was  any  testimony 
in  Virginia  or  elsewhere,  that  could  implicate  the  prison- 
ers in  the  charge  preferred,  and  also  to  learn  what  re- 
liance could  be  placed  on  affidavits  swearing  to  legal  con- 
clusions. 

I  was  satisfied  that,  according  to  the  testimony,  neither 
of  the  prisoners  had  committed  an  offence  even  againsl 
the  law  of  Virginia,  and  that  the  testimony- was  not  such 
as  to  authorize  the  detention  of  the  prisoners.  I  there- 
fore discharged  them. 


200  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

I  owe  your  excellency  an  apology  for  not  sooner  an- 
swering your  letter.  Sickness  in  my  family  and  constant 
official  occupation  have  been  the  causes. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c. 
(Signed,)  ROBERT  H.  MORRIS, 

Recorder  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

That  the  recorder  was  clearly  right  in  discharging  the 
prisoners  is  most  evident.  The  affidavit  states  no  facts 
or  circumstances  which  implicated  the  accused,  or  showed 
that  either  directly  or  indirectly,  they  resorted  to  any 
practices  to  decoy  or  even  induce  the  slave  to  leave  the 
service  of  his  master.  The  affidavit-maker  merely  alleges 
that  the  accused  had  feloniously  stolen  a  negro  slave, 
which  was  swearing,  as  the  recorder  justly  remarks,  to  a 
law  question.  How  any  reasonable  man  could  have  en- 
tertained the  least  expectation  that  these  men  could  have 
been  convicted  in  Virginia,  is  truly  astonishing.  By  the 
liberal  indulgence  of  the  recorder,  the  agent  of  Virginia 
was  permitted  to  prove  before  him  all  he  pretended  he 
could  prove  if  the  prisoners  were  then  on  their  trial  in 
Virginia.  And  what  was  it  ?  Simply  that  they  were  on 
board  a  schooner  in  which  the  slave  had  ensconced 
himself  "  among  the  live-oak  lumber,"  and  that  they  were 
colored  men ! 

Mr.  Hopkins,  the  acting  governor  of  Virginia,  replied 
at  great  length  to  the  letter  of  Gov.  Seward.  He  com- 
mences by  saying, — 

"  I  beg  you  to  be  assured,  sir,  that  the  views  contained 
in  your  letter  have  been  weighed  most  attentively,  anx- 
iously, and  respectfully  ;  and  but  for  their  novelty  and 
dangerous  tendency,  I  should  have  felt  no  wish  to  con- 
tinue the  correspondence  between  us  farther.  But  en- 


1841.]  VIRGINIA  CONTROVERSY!  201 

tertaining  as  I  do  a  fixed  opinion  that  your  doctrines  are 
at  war  with  the  language  and  spirit  of  the  federal  consti- 
tution, inconsistent  with  the  true  relations,  rights,  and  du- 
ties of  the  states  of  the  Union,  and  calculated  to  disturb 
the  general  harmony  of  the  country,  I  feel  it  to  be  my 
imperious  duty  promptly  to  protest  against  such  a  prece- 
dent, and  to  vindicate  the  rights  of  the  state  whose  exec- 
utive functions  have  been  temporarily  committed  to  my 
charge." 

He  then  proceeded,  at  great  length,  to  argue  that  the 
position  taken  by  Mr.  Seward  was  untenable.  The  prin- 
cipal, and  perhaps  the  only  real  question  between  the 
parties  was,  whether  a  person  who  commits  an  act  in  a 
state  where,  by  the  statute  law  of  that  state,  such  act  is 
made  felony,  and  escapes  into  a  sister  state,  by  whose 
laws  the  same  act  is  not  a  crime,  can,  by  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States,  be  required  to  be  given  up  and  sent 
back  on  the  requisition  of  the  governor  of  the  first-men- 
tioned state.  This  question  was  ably  and  learnedly  dis- 
cussed by  the  acting  governor  of  Virginia  as  well  as  by 
Gov.  Seward.  But,  as  usually  happens  between  contro- 
versialists, each  failed  to  convince  the  other. 

Gov.  Seward,  at  the  session  of  1840,  submitted  this 
correspondence  to  the  legislature,  and  in  the  assembly  it 
was  referred  to  a  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Simmons, 
from  Essex  county,  was  chairman.  That  committee 
concluded  their  report  by  saying,  that — 

"On  a  careful  examination  of  that  correspondence,  your 
committee  cannot  discover  any  occasion  for  the  interpo- 
sition of  this  house,  even  by  way  of  advice.  They  be- 
lieve the  positions  taken  by  the  governor  of  this  state  to 
be  sound  and  judicious,  and  that  his  exposition  of  the 
meaning  of  the  constitutional  provision  in  question,  is  the 


202  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

only  one  that  can  be  given  consistently  with  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  state  and  the  rights  of  the  citizens,  while  it 
is  in  strict  conformity  with  our  federal  obligations  to 
other  states,  and  recognises  all  the  rights  which  are  in- 
tended to  be  secured." 

In  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1840,  the  correspondence 
was  resumed  on  the  part  of  Virginia,  by  Thomas  W. 
Gilmer,  then  governor  of  that  state,  and  labored  and 
learned  arguments  were  transmitted  from  one  governor 
to  the  other.  In  the  mean  time  the  legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia, on  pretence  of  retaliation,  passed  inspection  laws 
calculated  to  produce  inconvenience  to  coasting- vessels 
from  New  York,  which  might  enter  the  harbors  and  riv- 
ers of  Virginia.  Besides  these  measures  taken  by  the 
legislature,  Gov.  Gilmer  resorted  to  a  singular  expedient 
to  coerce  a  compliance  on  the  part  of  Gov.  Seward  with 
the  demand  of  the  former  to  deliver  Peter  Johnson  and 
his  two  associates. 

A  man  by  the  name  of  Robert  F.  Curry,  charged 
with  committing  the  crime  of  forgery  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  had  escaped  and  fled  to  the  state  of  Virginia.  Gov. 
Seward,  having  been  furnished  with  the  proper  evidence 
that  the  crime  had  been  committed  by  Curry,  made  and 
executed  a  requisition,  in  the  usual  form,  on  the  governor 
of  Virginia,  to  cause  him  to  be  delivered  to  John  D.  Dix, 
of  Ithaca.  Mr.  Gilmer  refused  to  comply  with  the  requi- 
sition, and  by  a  message  to  the  legislature  of  Virginia,  in- 
formed them  of  his  refusal ;  and  he  caused  to  be  forward- 
ed to  Gov.  Seward  the  following  order : 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  March  16th,  1840. 
A  demand  from  the.  governor  of  New  York  for  the 
surrender  of  Robert  F.  Curry,  charged  with  the  crime  of 


1841.]  VIRGINIA    CONTROVERSY.  203 

forgery  under  the  laws  of  that  state,  was  this  day  pre- 
sented by  John  D.  Dix,  the  accredited  agent  of  the  exec- 
utive of  New  York,  together  with  a  duly  certified  copy 
of  an  indictment  found  by  the  grand-jury  of  Tompkins 
county,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  against  the  said  Cur- 
ry ;  and  it  being  stated  that  the  said  Curry  has  been  ar- 
rested, and  is  now  in  custody,  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
this  commonwealth :  It  is  ordered,  that  the  demand  for 
the  said  Robert  F.  Curry  is.  in  proper  form,  and  will  be 
complied  with  whenever  a  similar  demand  for  the  surren- 
der of  Peter  Johnson,  Edward  Smith,  and  Isaac  Gansey, 
heretofore  charged  with  felony  under  the  laws  of  this 
state,  shall  be  complied  with  by  the  governor  or  authori- 
ties of  the  state  of  New  York. 

It  is  further  ordered,  to  be  certified  to  the  governor  of 
New  York,  that  measures  will  be  taken  for  the  detention 
of  the  said  Curry  for  six  months  from  the  time  of  his 
arrest,  a  period  sufficient,  it  is  hoped,  to  enable  the  au- 
thorities of  that  state  to  determine  whether  the  constitu- 
tion and  laws  under  which  this  demand  is  made  are  of 
as  binding  force  on  the  state  of  New  York  as  on  the  state 
of  Virginia. 

By  order  of  the  governor, 

WM.  H.  RICHARDSON, 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 

This  proceeding  can  hardly  deserve  a  better  name  than 
"  Lynch-law."  The  executive  order  of  Virginia,  on  the 
face  of  it,  admitted  that  the  requisition  of  Curry  was  "  in 
proper  form,"  and  assigned  as  a  reason  for  non-compli- 
ance, that  Gov.  Seward  had  refused  the  demand  to  sur- 
render Peter  Johnson  and  others  to  the  authorities  of 
Virginia.  Were  my  neighbor  to  burn  my  barn,  and  were 


204  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841- 

I,  as  an  offset,  to  burn  his  house,  the  case  would  in  princi- 
ple be  similar.  Besides,  the  order  was  a  flagrant  viola- 
tion of  Curry's  constitutional  rights.  He  was  to  be  pre- 
sumed innocent  until,  upon  a  traverse,  he  was  proved 
guilty.  And  yet  poor  Curry  was  to  be  kept  in  prison, 
without  an  opportunity  of  confronting  his  accusers,  du- 
ring the  pleasure  of  Gov.  Gilmer,  or  until  the  governor 
of  New  York  would  comply  with  the  mandate  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  a  sister  state.  It  is  due  to  the  legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia to  add,  that  when  the  message  of  Mr.  Gilmer,  giv- 
ing an  account  of  this  proceeding,  was  read  in  the  house 
of  delegates,  one  of  the  members  (Mr.  May)  offered  a 
resolution  disapproving  of  the  conduct  of  the  New  York 
governor  in  refusing  to  surrender  Johnson  and  others, 
but  censuring  the  refusal  of  Gov.  Gilmer  to  deliver  Cur- 
ry. The  resolution  was  in  these  words  : 

"  Resolved,  therefore,  by  the  general  assembly,  That 
in  its  opinion,  any  fugitive,  legally  charged  with  crime, 
and  demanded  by  the  governor  of  New  York,  according 
to  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States,  ought 
to  be  surrendered,  notwithstanding  the  refusal  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  that  state  to  act  in  a  similar  case." 

When  that  part  of  the  message  of  1841  which  related 
to  the  Virginia  controversy  was  considered  in  the  New 
York  assembly,  Mr.  Lawrence,  of  Queen's  county,  moved 
to  refer  it,  together  with  the  correspondence  on  the  sub- 
ject, to  a  select  committee. 

Mr.  Loomis,  from  Herkimer,  opposed  the  reference, 
stating,  that  in  his  judgment,  the  state  of  Virginia  had  a 
right  to  demand  the  surrender  of  fugitives  who  had  done 
any  act  which  by  the  laws  and  statutes  of  that  state  was 
made  felony,  though  the  same  act  could  not  be  punished 
as  a  crime  in  this  state  ;  but  he  was  of  opinion  that  the 


1841.]  VIRGINIA    CONTROVERSY.  205 

facts  contained  in  the  papers  presented  by  the  agent  of 
Virginia  to  Gov.  Seward  were  not  sufficient  to  warrant 
putting  the  accused  on  trial,  and  for  that  cause  he  thought 
the  governor  was  right  in  refusing  to  surrender  them ;  and 
Mr.  L.  offered  resolutions  for  the  consideration  of  the 
house,  in  accordance  with  his  view  of  the  case.* 

Mr.  Hubbel,  of  Tompkins,  late  adjutant-general,  who 
had,  during  the  struggle  in  1837,  joined  the  whig  party, 
offered  a  resolution  purporting  that  the  question  belonged 
exclusively  to  the  executive  department,  and  therefore 
that  the  house  ought  in  no  manner  to  interfere. 

These  several  propositions  were  discussed  from  day  to 
day  at  great  length.  The  main  question  was  involved 
in  the  resolution  of  Mr.  Loomis.  The  resolution  pro- 
posed by  Gen.  Hubbel,  however,  led  to  a  critical  exam- 
ination of  the  respective  powers  and  duties  of  the  several 


*  The  constitution  of  the  United  States  provides  that  "  congress  shall 
make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion,"  &c.,  but  a  state, 
whose  constitution  permits  it,  may  make  laws  to  establish  any  religion  it 
prefers,  and  inflict  such  penalties  for  the  violation  of  those  laws  as  it  may 
deem  expedient  and  proper;  in  which  case  the  United  States  government 
cannot  constitutionally  interfere  to  prevent  the  execution  of  such  laws  by 
the  state  which  enacts  them. 

The  following  question  is  therefore  respectfully  submitted  to  Mr.  Loomis, 
and  those  who  think  with  him.  Suppose  a  state,  Virginia  for  instance, 
should  amend  its  constitution  so  as  to  authorize  its  legislature  to  make  a 
law  for  the  establishment  of  a  particular  religion  ;  suppose,  then,  that  state 
should  enact  that  every  person  who  should  deny  the  "  real  presence""  at 
the  sucrament,  should  be  burned  at  the  stake  ;  and  suppose  Mr.  L.,  while 
travelling  through  Virginia  on  business,  should  deny  that  he  believed  in 
the  doctrine  of  "  the  real  presence,"  and  after  his  return  to  this  state  the 
governor  of  Virginia  should  demand  him  of  the  governor  of  this  state  as  a 
"  fugitive  from  justice,"  ought  the  governor  of  New  York  to  surrender 
him? 


'206  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

departments  of  the  state  government,  and  their  consti- 
tutional boundaries. 

Mr.  Wheaton,  a  talented  and  eloquent  member  from 
Albany,  Mr.  Hubbel,  Mr.  Simmons,  and  Mr.  Culver, 
among  others  delivered  speeches  in  support  of  the  course 
pursued  by  the  governor,  and  against  the  propriety  or  right 
of  interference  by  the  legislature.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
resolutions  of  Mr.  Loomis  were  sustained  by  the  mover, 
by  Messrs.  Townsend  and  Jones,  of  New  York,  and  by  Dr. 
Taylor,  late  a  member  of  congress  from  Onondaga,  and 
others.  Dr.  Taylor  concluded  an  able  speech  by  saying, 
with  his  usual  modesty  and  courtesy,  "  It  does  appear  to 
me — although  I  am  free  to  acknowledge  I  have  had  diffi- 
culty in  making  up  my  mind,  (for  I  do  not  consider  this 
as  one  of  those  clear  cases  in  regard  to  which  a  man 
may  decide  at  first  blush,  and  I  admit  there  is  a  plausibil- 
ity in  some  of  the  views  of  the  governor) — I  say  it  is  my 
deliberate  judgment  that  the  governor  has  erred,  (from 
the  best  examination  I  nave  been  able  to  give  to  the  sub- 
ject)— erred  in  his  position  with  regard  to  the  right  of 
Virginia  to  demand,  and  the  obligation  of  New  York  to 
surrender,  a  citizen  charged  with  stealing  a  slave." 

We  cannot  perceive  that  any  final  vote  on  the  long 
and  laboriously  debated  questions  which  grew  out  of  the 
Virginia  controversy,  was  taken  by  the  house,  and  our 
impression  is,  that  it  was  suffered  to  die  away  without 
taking  any  decisive  vote  upon  any  material  point.  In  the 
month  of  February  a  motion  was  made  that  the  consid- 
eration of  the  subject  should  be  indefinitely  postponed, 
which  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  fifty  to  thirty-eight,  and 
this  seems  to  have  been  the  last  action  upon  it  during 
that  session. 

Previous  to  the  election  of  presidential  electors  in  No- 


i841.]  GLENT WORTH    CASE.  207 

vember,  1840,  a  plan  appears  to  have  been  contrived  to 
smuggle  into  the  city  of  New  York  inhabitants  of  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  who  should,  on  their  arrival  in  New 
York,  be  fraudulently  introduced  to  the  inspectors  of 
election  as  legal  voters  in  that  city.  This  plan  was  dis- 
covered previous  to  its  consummation  by  Col.  Jon.  D.  Ste- 
venson, now  in  command  of  a  regiment  of  United  States 
volunteers  in  California.  Mr.  Stevenson,  who  then  was 
acting  with  the  whig  party,  some  time  in  September, 
1840,  held  a  conversation  with  one  J.  B.  Glent worth,  an 
inspector  of  tobacco,  respecting  the  probable  result  of  the 
ensuing  election,  and  the  necessary  arrangements  which 
ought  to  be  made  in  order  to  secure  success.  Glentworth 
thereupon  suggested  to  Stevenson  that  voters  ought  to  be 
imported  from  Philadelphia;  that  at  the  election  of  1838 
he  had  himself  obtained  the  attendance  of  many  inhab- 
itants of  Philadelphia,  who  voted  in  several  of  the  wards 
of  the  city,  at  the  expense  of  thirty  dollars  for  each  voter ; 
that  he  had  written  evidence  of  his  agency  in  the  busi- 
ness in  his  possession;  and  in  the  same  conversation  it 
was  proposed  that  Stevenson  should  undertake  the  mis- 
sion in  1840,  which  had  been  so  successfully  executed  in 
1838  by  Mr.  Glentworth.  Mr.  Stevenson  swears  that 
he  consented  to  undertake  the  enterprise,  for  the  purpose 
of  detecting,  exposing,  and  preventing  the  fraud.  Ac- 
cording to  his  affidavit  he  went  to  Philadelphia  with  a 
letter  of  introduction  from  Glentworth,  where  he  nego- 
tiated with  the  high  constable  of  that  city  to  furnish  him 
with  a  certain  number  of  men,  at  a  price  agreed  upon, 
who  should  come  to  New  York,  and  offer  themselves  as 
voters  at  the  coming  election.  Some  correspondence  in 
writing  was  afterwards  carried  on  between  Stevenson  and 
his  agents  in  Philadelphia,  in  which  the  fraudulent  voters 


208  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1841. 

were  described  as  persons  who  would  come  to  New  York 
for  the  purpose  of  being  employed  to  lay  iron  or  lead 
water-pipes.  Hence  the  democratic  newspapers  charac- 
terized the  political  partisans  engaged  in  this  transaction 
as  "pipe-layers." 

A  few  days  before  the  election  Stevenson  made  a  full 
disclosure  of  the  plot  to  Benjamin  F.  Butler  and,  we  be- 
lieve, John  W.  Edmonds.  They  advised  that  a  prosecu- 
tion should  be  instituted  against  Glentworth,  and  that 
measures  should  be  taken  to  gain  possession  of  his  papers, 
which,  it  was  alleged,  contained  the  evidence  of  the  fraud. 
These  papers  had  been  deposited  with  Mr.  Pierce,  a  citi- 
zen, and,  as  we  believe,  a  respectable  ckizen,  of  New 
York.  Criminal  proceedings  were  instituted  before  Re- 
corder Morris  against  Glentworth,  who,  by  the  way,  was 
soon  after  this  disclosure  removed  from  his  office  as  in- 
spector of  tobacco  by  Gov.  Seward ;  and  Mr.  Morris 
went  with  an  officer,  in  the  night-time,  to  the  house  of 
Mr.  Pierce,  and  demanded  of  him  the  Glentworth  papers, 
as  they  were  called,  which  had  been  delivered  to  him, 
sealed  in  a  package,  for  safe-keeping.  Mr.  Pierce  hesi- 
tated about  complying  with  this  demand,  whereupon  the 
recorder  said  to  him  he  would  search  for  the  papers,  and 
seize  them  by  force,  by  virtue  of  his  authority  as  a  ma- 
gistrate ;  and  under  the  coercion  of  this  threat,  Mr 
Pierce  gave  up  the  papers.  Shortly  afterwards  a  grand- 
jury  was  empannelled  for  the  Court  of  General  Sessions 
in  New  York,  of  which  the  recorder  was  presiding  judge. 
It  was  pretty  well  understood  that  an  attempt  would  be 
made  to  procure  the  indictment  of  Mr.  Morris,  as  being 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  in  coercing,  in  the  manner 
above  stated,  the  delivery  of  the  papers  by  Pierce.  The 
recorder,  in  his  charge  to  the  grand-jury  on  that  occa- 


1841.]  REMOVAL  OF  RECORDER  OF  N.  Y.  209 

sion,  stated  the  case,  as  he  supposed  it  would  be  proved 
against  himself,  and  went  on  to  deliver  a  labored  argu- 
ment in  justification  of  his  conduct. 

On  the  29th  of  December,  the  governor  wrote  to  Mr. 
Morris,  informing  him  that  he  should  recommend  his  re- 
moval from  the  office  of  recorder  on  two  grounds  : 

1st.  Because  he  deemed  his  conduct  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Pierce  unjustifiable. 

2d.  Because,  in  his  judgment,  it  was  improper  for  the 
recorder  to  avail  himself  of  his  official  station  to  charge 
the  grand-jury  on  a  question  in  which  he  was  individu- 
ally concerned. 

On  the  8th  day  of  January,  the  recorder  replied,  at 
great  length,  to  the  governor's  letter.  The  reply  con- 
tained a  very  ingenious  argument,  and  afforded  evidence 
of  much  legal  learning  and  ability.  The  recorder  insist- 
ed that  none  but  "  unreasonable"  searches  were  prohib- 
ited by  the  constitution,  and  that  under  the  circumstances 
it  was  perfectly  reasonable,  had  Mr.  Pierce  not  given  up 
the  Glentworth  papers,  to  have  forcibly  seized  them.  He 
also  maintained  that  it  was  his  right,  as  presiding  judge, 
to  charge  the  grand-jury  on  any  question  which  it  was 
anticipated  might  come  before  them. 

The  governor,  on  the  12th  of  January,  and  before  he 
received  Mr.  Morris's  letter,  sent  a  message  to  the  sen- 
ate recommending  his  removal  from  the  office  of  recorder, 
for  the  causes  set  forth  in  his  letter  of  the  29th  Decem- 
ber; and  in  the  same  message  he  nominated  Frederick  A. 
Tallmadge,  formerly  a  senator  from  New  York,  as  the 
successor  of  Mr.  Morris. 

The  proceedings  on  the  message,  according  to  the  rules 
of  the  senate,  were  in  secret  session,  but  were  afterwards 
made  public  by  a  special  order  for  that  purpose.  As  this 
14 


210  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

ease,  at  the  time,  excited  much  interest,  and  is  one  novel 
and  indeed  important  in  its  character,  we  will  give  a  brief 
summary  of  these  proceedings,  mainly  collected  from  the 
Albany  Argus. 

The  message,  after  being  read,  and  an  ineffectual  at- 
tempt made  by  Mr.  Hunter  to  lay  it  on  the  table,  was, 
with  the  accompanying  papers,  referred  to  the  senators 
from  the  first  district. 

Mr.  Strong  then  offered  the  following  resolution : 

"  Whereas  the  governor  has  communicated  to  the  sen- 
ate a  correspondence  between  him  and  the  recorder  of 
the  city  of  New  York,  accompanying  his  recommenda- 
tion of  the  removal  of  the  said  recorder,  and  in  such 
recommendation  states  that  he  will  communicate  to  the 
senate  any  further  communication  he  may  receive  from 
the  said  recorder — Therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  as  the  recorder  has  not  had  a  full  op- 
portunity of  making  his  defence  before  the  governor,  and 
none  whatever  before  the  senate,  the  recorder  be  notified 
of  the  causes  for  his  removal  set  forth  in  the  recommend- 
ation of  the  governor,  and  have  an  opportunity  of  being 
heard  in  his  defence  before  the  senate." 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Peck,  the  resolution  was  laid  on  the 
table  by  the  following  vote  : 

Ayes — Messrs.  Dickinson,  Dixon,  Hawkins,  Hopkins, 
Hull,  Humphrey,  Lee,  Livingston,  Maynard,  Moseley, 
Nicholas,  Peck,  Platt,  Rhoades,  Root,  Taylor,  Verplanck, 
Works— 18. 

Noes — Messrs.  Denniston,  Ely,  Foster,  Hunt,  Paige, 
Scott,  Skinner,  Strong — 8. 

On  the  15th  of  January,  the  governor  transmitted  to 
the  senate  the  letter  of  the  recorder,  dated  the  8th,  to- 
gether with  a  message,  in  which  he  persisted  in  the  rec- 


1841.]  REMOVAL  OF  RECORDER  OF  N.  Y.  211 

ommendation  of  removal,  and  he  also  stated  that  the 
recorder  had  sent  to  him  a  pamphlet,  (containing  affida- 
vits taken  before  the  recorder,)  which  he  declined  to 
transmit  to  the  senate,  as  it  contained  irrelevant  matter, 
unless  the  senate  should  request  it. 

Mr.  Verplanck  then  moved  that  "  so  much  of  the  mes- 
sage of  his  excellency,  the  governor,  as  relates  to  the 
causes  assigned  for  the  removal  of  Robert  H.  Morris 
from  the  office  of  recorder  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
together  with  the  accompanying  documents  and  papers, 
be  referred  to  the,  committee  on  the  judiciary,  and  that 
the  committee,  consisting  of  the  senators  attending  the 
senate  from  the  first  district,  be  discharged  from  the  fur- 
ther consideration  of  the  same." 

Mr.  V.  said  the  question  was  one  of  great  interest  to 
the  state,  and  one  founded  on  general  principles  of  law. 
The  senators  from  the  first  district  were  not  all  present ; 
Mr.  Furman,  his  colleague,  had  gone  home,  and  would 
be  absent  several  days,  leaving  only  two  senators  in  at- 
tendance from  that  district ;  and  besides,  as  it  was  an 
exciting  subject,  the  senators  from  that  district  might 
perhaps  be  prejudiced  in  their  opinions. 

The  motion  prevailed. 

Mr.  Foster  then  offered  the  following  resolution : 

"  Resolved,  That  his  excellency  the  governor  be  re- 
quested to  communicate  to  the  senate  all  depositions, 
papers,  and  documents,  which  Robert  H.  Morris,  Esq.. 
recorder  of  the  city  of  New  York,  has  furnished  him  in 
his  defence  made  to  the  causes  assigned  by  the  governor 
for  removing  him  from  his  said  office." 

Mr.  Lee  objected,  that  the  pamphlet  sent  to  the  gov- 
ernor contained  much  irrelevant  matter. 


212  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

Mr.  Paige — The  papers,  relied  upon  by  the  recorder, 
are  marked  with  his  initials,  and  are  authentic. 

Mr.  Maynard  presumed  Mr.  Morris  sent  the  pamphlet 
to  save  time  and  the  trouble  of  copying,  and  suggested 
an  amendment  to  the  resolution,  that  the  governor  com- 
municate such  papers  as  are  pertinent. 

Mr.  Scott  could  not  see  how  the  pamphlet  could  be 
considered  irrelevant :  it  is  upon  those  papers  that  the 
recorder  justifies  his  proceedings. 

Mr.  Maynard  said  the  pamphlet  contained  arguments 
of  course,  newspaper  remarks,  and  much  other  irrelevant 
matter. 

Mr.  Foster  said  the  governor  had  done  what  he  thought 
was  his  duty  :  our  duty  now  remains.  Mr.  Morris  deems 
the  papers  important  to  his  defence,  and  the  governor 
differs  from  him.  He  (Mr.  F.)  should  never  hold  to  the 
doctrine  that  power  creates  infallibility.  He  wanted  to 
hear  both  sides,  so  as  to  form  his  own  opinion.  The 
senator  from  the  seventh  (Mr.  Maynard)  objects  to  news- 
paper evidence,  when  the  highest  authority  of  the  state 
has  based  the  charge  against  the  recorder  upon  a  news- 
paper. It  may  be  that  a  different  impression  would 
have  been  made  upon  the  governor,  if  he  had  waited 
for  this  communication  from  the  recorder  before  recom- 
mending his  removal.  After  he  had  taken  a  wrong  start, 
it  was  more  difficult  to  convince  him.  It  was  due  to  the 
recorder  that  he  should  have  an  opportunity  of  present- 
ing to  the  senate  the  defence  he  had  made.  This  was  a 
proceeding  (continued  Mr.  F.)  before  a  secret  tribunal, 
and  its  object  was  to  degrade  the  recorder,  and  deprive 
him  of  his  office.  He  trusted  the  senate  would  make  no 
exception,  would  leave  nothing  to  the  discretion  of  the 
governor,  but  would  call  for  all  the  papers. 


1841.]  REMOVAL  OF  RECORDER  OF  N.  Y.  218 

Mr.  Strong  hoped  the  resolution  would  pass  as  origin- 
ally introduced.  In  this  matter  the  senate  is  similar,  in 
some  respects,  to  a  court  of  justice;  at  all  events,  it 
ought  to  be  so  far  similar  as  to  preserve  the  forms  of  jus- 
tice. In  a  court,  irrelevant  testimony  may  be  offered, 
but  it  cannot  be  decided  to  be  irrelevant,  until  it  has  been 
offered  and  understood.  The  governor  may  be  fully  im- 
pressed with  the  belief  that  the  papers  are  irrelevant ;  but 
it  does  not  appear  that  the  senate  will  be  of  the  same 
opinion.  He  hoped  all  the  papers  would  be  received 
from  the  governor,  and  referred  to  the  committee  having 
charge  of  the  subject. 

Mr.  Lee  was  not  prepared  to  vote  on  the  question  at 
the  present  "time.  It  was  a  matter  of  great  doubt  wheth- 
er there  was  any  thing  relevant  in  the  papers.  If  the 
question  does  not  depend  on  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the 
parties  before  the  recorder,  the  papers  are  of  no  conse- 
quence. 

The  resolution  was  then  laid  on  the  table  till  the  next 
day. 

On  the  16th,  the  resolution  offered  by  Mr.  Foster  was 
taken  up  and  adopted. 

The  resolution  offered  by  Mr.  Strong  was  called  up, 
when  Mr.  Strong  said  that  to  deny  the  recorder  a  hear- 
ing before  the  senate  would  be  to  deny  him  what  was 
granted  to  the  pettiest  offender  in  every  court  of  justice 
in  the  land.  If  he  was  removed,  it  must  be  because  he 
was  incompetent,  or  because  he  was  corrupt.  No  one 
pretends  the  former,  and  the  charge  was  therefore  one  of 
mal  and  corrupt  conduct  in  office.  He  should  consider 
it  a  gross  and  high-handed  invasion  of  the  rights  of  the 
people  if  the  senate  should  try  the  recorder  on  this  charge, 
without  giving  him  an  opportunity  of  being  present  in 


214  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

person  and  by  counsel,  and  of  being  heard  in  his  defence. 
The  constitution  of  the  United  States  has  guarantied 
this  right  to  every  citizen,  and  in  a  case  of  this  magni- 
tude and  importance,  the  senate  should  pause  before  wan- 
tonly breaking  down  the  barriers  set  up  by  that  sacred 
instrument  for  the  protection  of  popular  rights. 

Mr.  Root  said  he  did  not  know,  when  the  resolution 
was  first  introduced,  but  that  it  was  proper ;  but  as  he 
had  given  it  more  thought,  he  had  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  this  was  not  a  case  of  criminal  prosecution 
where  the  accused  party  had  a  right  of  being  heard.  Mr. 
R.  gave  a  brief  history  of  the  former  system  of  appoint- 
ment and  removal  by  the  governor  and  council,  and  ar- 
gued, that  as  the  new  constitution  required  county  clerks 
and  justices  of  the  peace  to  have  notices  of  charges 
against  them  before  being  removed,  it  intended  to  give 
officers  an  opportunity  of  being  heard  in  their  defence 
only  in  those  cases.  He  said,  he  knew  there  was  much 
noise  made  about  the  removal  of  the  marine  judges  in 
New  York  last  winter,  but  it  was  because  the  people  did 
not  understand  the  constitution.  It  would  be  as  well,  as 
this  is  the  first  instance,  to  have  the  mode  of  proceeding 
settled.  He  hoped  it  would  go  to  the  judiciary  com- 
mittee. 

Mr.  Scott  said  the  senator  from  the  third  (Mr.  Root) 
had  expressed  a  wish  that  the  mode  of  proceeding  in"  these 
cases  might  be  settled.  He  (Mr.  S.)  hoped  no  rule  would 
be  adopted,  depriving  the  citizen  of  the  right  of  being 
hoard  in  his  defence.  Mr.  S.  alluded  to  the  former  high 
position  the  senator  from  the  third  (Mr.  Root)  held  in  the 
democratic  party.  It  was  from  him  (Mr.  S.  said)  I 
learned  the  first  lesson  of  democracy,  and  it  is  with  pain 
I  now  see  him  attempting  to  deprive  the  people  of  their 


1841.]  REMOVAL  OF  RECORDER  OF  V.  Y.  215 

dearest  rights.  Mr.  S.  spoke  of  the  removal  of  the  ma- 
rine judges  in  New  York  by  the  governor  and  senate, 
last  winter.  He  demonstrated  that  the  judges  of  that 
court  were  still  justices  of  the  peace,  and  that  their  remo- 
val without  notice  was  a  palpable  violation  of  the  letter 
of  the  constitution.  He  read  from  the  constitution  as 
follows  : — "  And  no  justice  of  the  peace  shall  be  removed 
until  he  shall  have  notice  of  the  charges  made  against 
him,  and  an  opportunity  of  being  heard  in  his  defence." 
The  senate  removed  them,  (continued  Mr.  S.,)  and  I  now 
stand  here  to  tell  this  body  that  I  was  elected  by  an  over- 
whelming majority,  as  a  distinct  rebuke  from  the  people 
upon  the  proceedings  of  the  senate  last  winter.  Is  one 
rule  to  be  meted  out  to  one  officer,  and  another  to  an- 
other, under  this  constitution  ?  Mr.  S.  then  reviewed 
the  course  of  the  governor  in  not  giving  time  to  the  re- 
corder, &c. 

The  motion  to  refer  Mr.  Strong's  resolution  to  the 
committee  on  the  judiciary  was  then  adopted. 

Mr.  Maynard,  from  a  majority  of  the  committee  on  the 
judiciary,  presented  a  written  report  against  the  resolu- 
tion to  notify  the  recorder  of  the  charges  against  him,  and 
to  allow  him  a  hearing  before  the  senate. 

Mr.  Strong  arose  and  said  he  had,  as  a  member  of  the 
judiciary  committee,  an  adverse  report  in  writing,  in  fa- 
vor of  the  resolution. 

The  president  pro  tern.  If  there  is  no  objection,  it  will 
be  received. 

Mr.  Strong.    It  is  a  matter  of  right. 

The  president  pro  tern.  The  president,  who  usually 
occupies  the  chair,  has  always  held  that  receiving  a  re- 
port of  a  minority  is  a  matter  of  courtesy,  but  the  ques- 
tion need  not  now  be  raised,  as  the  report  will  be  received. 


216  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

Mr.  Strong  then  presented  his  report,  and  both  reports 
were  laid  on  the  table. 

Mr.  Maynard  then  offered  the  following  resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  message  of  the  governor,  recom- 
mending the  removal  of  the  recorder  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  with  the  defence  of  the  recorder,  and  the  docu- 
ments accompanying  the  same,  be  referred  to  the  attor- 
ney-general to  report  his  opinion  thereon." 

Mr.  Maynard  said  the  recorder  had  made  a  very  long, 
a  very  ingenious,  and,  perhaps,  a  legal  defence,  and  that 
it  was  important  that  the  subject  be  acted  upon  soon,  as 
it  was  necessary  on  account  of  the  courts  in  New  York, 
the  recorder  declining  to  act,  from  an  apprehension  that 
he  was  already  removed,  as  in  that  case  his  acts  would  be 
illegal.  Mr.  M.  also  alluded  to  the  injunction  of  secrecy, 
and  said  that  what  was  done  here  was  known,  as  appear- 
ed from  the  remarks  of  the  recorder  on  the  bench,  though 
he  (Mr.  M.)  disclaimed  any  imputation. 

Mr.  Foster  opposed  the  resolution.  It  had  better  be 
referred  to  the  Supreme  Court.  The  attorney- general 
was  admitted  ex  gratia  as  a  counsellor  in  the  Supreme 
Court  to  qualify  him  for  his  station.  What  did  he  know 
of  great  constitutional  principles  ?  He  skimmed  on  the 
surface  :  he  was,  besides,  a  political  partisan  of  the  gov- 
ernor. It  would  be  improper  in  a  case  of  this  kind  to 
take  the  opinion  of  the  attorney-general ;  if  such  an  opin- 
ion was  received,  the  recorder  should  be  heard  by  the 
senate.  Mr.  F.  referred  to  a  communication  in  the 
Courier  and  Enquirer,  as  to  what  was  divulged  in  the 
case  of  Glentworth,  and  said  that  what  the  recorder  had 
said,  any  one  might  know. 

During  these  proceedings,  several  very  able  speeches 
were  made.  Messrs.  Foster,  Paige,  and  Strong  made 


1841.]  REMOVAL. OF  RECORDER  OF  N.  Y.  217 

great  and  zealous  efforts  in  defence  of  Mr.  Morris ;  while 
on  the  other  hand,  Gen.  Root,  Mr.  Verplanck,  and  that 
cool  and  sagacious  statesman  and  learned  lawyer,  Mr. 
Maynard,  sustained,  with  equal  ability,  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  governor. 

The  matter  was  finally  referred  to  the  attorney-general, 
(Mr.  Hall,)  who,  in  his  report,  gave  the  question  a  learn- 
ed and  laborious  examination,  and  arrived  at  the  conclu- 
sion that  Mr.  Morris  could  not  be  justified  in  the  course 
he  had  taken. 

The  senate,  by  a  party  vote,  concurred  in  this  opinion, 
and  Mr.  Morris  was  removed  from,  and  Mr.  Tallmadge 
appointed  to,  the  office  of  recorder  of  the  city  of  New 
York. 

As  a  citizen  and  as  a  social  companion,  there  are  few 
men  in  this  or  any  other  community,  that  possess  more 
estimable  qualities  than  FREDERICK  A.  TALLMADGE.  No 
man  can  associate  with  him  without  being  delighted  and 
charmed  with  the  liberality  of  his  sentiments,  his  courte- 
sy, and  his  social  qualities  ;  but  his  consistency  and  in- 
tegrity as  a  politician  has  been  questioned.*  We  may, 
however,  assert  with  confidence,  that  no  man  could  ac- 
quire and  preserve  the  regard  and  esteem,  and  we  may 
say  devotion,  of  so  many  personal  friends  as  Mr.  Tall- 
madge has  done,  without  possessing  many  good  qualities 
of  head  and  heart. 

With  respect  to  Mr.  Morris  we  feel  bound  to  say, 
without  expressing  or  intending  to  express,  and  we  may 
in  sincerity  add,  without  having  formed  any  opinion 
whether  his  conduct  in  relation  to  the  Glentworth  papers 
did  or  did  not  require  his  removal  from  office,  that  he 

*  2  Political  History. 


218  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

was  and  is  a  man  of  ardent  temperament,  zealous  in  the 
pursuit  of  whatever  he  deems  right ;  a  lawyer  of  con- 
siderable legal  learning  ;  and,  what  is  rather  unusual,  al- 
though a  reputable  lawyer,  that  he  is  a  man  of  genius. 
Next  to  William  C.  Bryant,  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
stands  Robert  H.  Morris. 

He  was  removed  in  February,  and  in  May  following 
was  elected  mayor  of  New  York  by  a  large  majority. 
This  result  could  not  have  occurred  if  all,  or  any  consid- 
erable portion  of  the  citizens  of  that  city,  had  believed 
that  he  had  wilfully  acted  wrong  as  recorder. 

That  a  vile  and  base  fraud  was  attempted,  and  had  in 
1838  been  perpetrated  by  Glentworth  and  his  associates, 
there  cannot  now  be  a  doubt.  He  endeavored  to  impli- 
cate M.  H.  Grinnell,  R.  C.  Wetmore,  E.  Curtis,  and 
other  highly  respectable  whig  citizens,  as  concerned  with 
him  in  this  nefarious  transaction,  and  the  democratic 
press  of  that  day  of  course  countenanced  the  allegations 
of  Glentworth.  But  Mr.  Grinnell  and  others,  on  oath, 
denied  any  participation  in  the  fraud.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  whigs  charged  on  the  democrats  that  for  years 
past  they  had,  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  particular,  by 
management  and  fraud,  obtained  many  illegal  votes  from 
foreigners  not  naturalized,  and  by  other  means  equally 
unlawful  and  unjustifiable.  It  is  probably  too  true  that 
unprincipled  and  reckless  electioneerers  of  both  parties 
may  have  smuggled  into  the  ballot-boxes  votes  which 
ought  not  to  have  been  received ;  but  that  such  men  as 
Moses  H.  Grinnell,  and  others  named  as  his  associates,  on 
the  whig  side,  or  any  of  the  respectable  members  of  the 
democratic  party  on  the  other,  have  in  our  most  excited 
elections  countenanced  or  connived  at  frauds  in  our  elec- 
tions, we  do  not  believe.  The  evil,  if  it  has  existed,  has 


1841.]  CAPITAL    PUNISHMENT.  219 

been  confined  to  a  very  limited  extent,  and  it  is  believed 
that  the  plan  which  has  lately  been  adopted  of  dividing 
towns  and  wards  into  small  election  districts,  has  provi- 
ded an  effectual  guard  against  those  frauds  which,  if 
permitted,  would  in  a  short  time  disgrace  and  demolish 
that  system  of  self-government  which  every  American 
patriot  so  highly  values,  and  which  has  justly  rendered 
us  the  admiration  of  the  world. 

A  select  committee  was  appointed,  to  whom  that  part 
of  the  message  of  the  governor  was  referred  which  rela- 
ted to  capita]  punishment.  Mr.  O'Sullivan  of  New  York, 
the  distinguished  editor  of  the  Democratic  Review,  was 
chairman  of  that  committee.  This  was  a  subject,  the 
importance  of  which  had  long  been  strongly  impressed -on 
the  benevolent  and  sensitive  mind  of  Mr.  O'Sullivan,  and 
he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  station  with  anxious  so- 
licitude to  procure  the  passage  of  a  law  to  abolish  the 
death  penalty.  After  his  appointment  he  opened  a  cor- 
respondence with  intelligent  men  in  almost  every  county 
in  the  state,  and  to  his  report,  which  he  made  to  the  as- 
sembly on  the  sixteenth  day  of  April,  which  was  decided- 
ly in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  capital  punishment,  he 
annexed  the  communications  of  sundry  eminent  individ- 
uals who  expressed  themselves  favorable  to  the  measure, 
and  detailed  a  variety  of  facts  tending  to  show  that  capi- 
tal punishment,  instead  of  diminishing  the  number  of 
murders,  increased  them.  Mr.  O'Sullivan,  in  his  report, 
endeavored  to  prove,  and,  in  our  opinion,  did  prove,  that 
the  notion  that  the  divine  law  enjoined  capital  punish- 
ment was  not  well  founded  ;  that  the  infliction  of  death 
prevented  the  accomplishment  of  one  great  object  of  pun- 
ishment— the  reformation  of  the  offender  ;  that  the  differ- 
ence in  the  crime  and  guilt  of  premeditated  murder — for 


220  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

instance,  by  the  waylayer — and  the  case  of  killing  from 
the  impulse  of  sudden  excitement,  and  in  various  other 
cases  where  malice  is  implied  by  the  existing  law,  was 
immense,  and  yet  by  law  the  punishment  was  the  same; 
that  the  execution  of  the  accused  put  it  out  of  the  power 
to  correct  errors  (which  had  frequently  happened)  of 
erroneous  convictions  of  the  innocent ;  and  that  the  ta- 
king away  the  lives  of  men  was  a  relict  of  the  barbarism 
of  the  dark  ages,  at  war  with  Christianity  and  with  the 
humanity,  refinement,  and  intelligence  of  the  present  age 
of  the  world. 

His  conclusion  therefore  was,  that  capital  punishment 
ought  to  be  abolished,  and  imprisonment  at  hard  labor 
substituted  in  lieu  of  it ;  and  that  in  cases  now  by  law 
punishable  with  death,  the  pardoning  power  should  be 
taken  from  the  governor. 

This  report  seemed  to  be  well  received  by  the  assem- 
bly and  by  the  public,  but  action  upon  it  was  from  time 
to  time  procrastinated,  until  within  two  days  of  the  ter- 
mination of  the  session.  Mr.  Simmons,  in  a  set  speech, 
when  Mr.  O'Sullivan's  bill  came  before  the  house,  op- 
posed it,  notwithstanding  which,  it  passed  to  a  third  read- 
ing by  a  vote  of  fifty-seven  to  fifty-two ;  but  when  the 
question  was  taken  on  its  final  passage,  it  was  lost,  fifty- 
two  being  against  it  (the  same  number  of  votes  which 
was  cast  against  its  engrossment)  and  only  forty-six  in 
its  favor.  We  regret  to  perceive  among  the  names  of 
the  members  who  voted  against  the  bill,  those  of  Sim- 
mons, Hoffman,  and  Worden.  However  inconsistent  it 
may  seem,  and  however  strange  it  may  appear,  the 
ministers  of  religion,  the  special  ambassadors  of  that  Be- 
ing whose  mission  to  this  world  was  to  save  life,  not  to 
destroy  it,  very  zealously  opposed  the  abolition  of  the 


1841.]  CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  C.  SPENCER.  221 

death  punishment ;  and  we  have  been  told  by  Mr.  O'Sul- 
livan  himself,  that  about  the  time  his  bill  came  under  con- 
sideration, many  clergymen  were  in  the  lobby  of  the  house, 
and  that  he  verily  believed  that  their  influence  prevented 
the  passage  of  the  bill.  It  will  be  perceived  that  fifty- 
two  voted  against  passing  the  bill  to  a  third  reading,  and 
that  there  were  only  fifty-two  votes  against  its  final  pas- 
sage, while  but  forty-six  voted  for  it.  The  inference 
seems  very  plausible,  that  eleven  of  the  fifty-seven  mem- 
bers who  voted  for  the  abolition  of  the  death  penalty, 
through  some  influence  which  was  brought  to  bear  on 
their  minds  when  the  final  vote  was  taken,  absented  them- 
selves from  their  places  in  the  house. 

Another  subject  of  great  importance  came  before  the 
legislature,  and  was  definitively  acted  upon  during  the 
present  session.  This  was  a  modification  of  the  common 
school  law,  by  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  deputy 
superintendent  of  schools  in  every  county.  By  the  law 
as  it  then  existed,  each  town  was  required  to  elect  three 
school-commissioners  and  three  inspectors.  These  offi- 
cers examined  teachers,  and  decided  whether  they  were 
of  sufficient  ability  and  erudition,  and  whether  as  re- 
spected their  morals  they  were  suitable  persons  to  be 
intrusted  with  the  care  of  children,  and  the  education  of 
the  rising  generation. 

JOHN  C.  SPENCER  was  at  that  time  secretary  of  state, 
and  therefore  state  superintendent  of  common  schools. 
The  high  character  of  this  gentleman,  as  one  of  the  most 
learned  lawyers  in  the  state,  possessing  clear,  logical,  and 
nicely  discriminating  intellectual  powers ;  his  untiring,  la- 
borious, and  unceasing  application;  his  unrivalled  capacity 
for  mental  labor,  are  known  and  universally  admitted. 
To  the  mighty  legal  mind  of  his  father,  the  venerable 


222  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  \EVV  YORK.  [1841. 

chief-justice,  he  has  added  various  and  extended  literary 
acquirements,  and  read  and  thoroughly  digested  all  the 
useful  productions  which  have,  during  the  present  age, 
issued  from  the  press,  both  in  Europe  and  America. 
We  speak  of  Mr.  Spencer,  not  as  a  politician,  or  as  a 
member  of  a  political  party,  but  of  his  character  as  a 
lawyer,  as  a  literary  man,  and  his  energy  and  labors  as  a 
public  officer.  His  active  mind  pervaded  all  the  depart- 
ments of  the  state  government.  He  knew  and  had  an 
agency  in  all  that  was  done.  The  impaired  health  of  Mr. 
Cooke,  and  the  inclination  and  ability  of  Mr.  Spencer  for 
active  business,  drew  upon  him  a  considerable  share  of 
the  labors  of  that  important  and  overloaded  department 
over  which  the  comptroller  presides.  Besides  all  this, 
Mr.  Spencer  took  a  deep  interest,  and  exercised  a  pow- 
erful influence  in  all  the  appointments  made  by  the  gov- 
ernor and  senate.  Mr.  Croswell,  in  the  war  he  was  then 
making  on  the  whigs,  who  then  held  a  majority  in  all  the 
departments  of  the  state  government,  as  we  perceive 
from  examining  the  files  of  the  Argus,  frequently  speaks 
of  an  individual  whom  he  describes  as  the  "  doer  of  all 
work."  We  presume  he  meant  by  this'  description  to 
designate  Mr.  Spencer,  without  naming  him.  If  so,  he 
characterized  Mr.  Spencer  more  truly  than  party  editors 
generally  describe  their  distinguished  political  opponents. 
Mr.  Spencer  put  in  requisition  all  his  energies  to  im- 
prove the  common-school  system.  He  perceived  that  it 
was  greatly  defective ;  that  many  of  the  town  commis- 
sioners and  inspectors  were  incompetent  to  judge  of 
|he  fitness  and  requisite  qualifications  of  teachers ;  that 
others  were  not  thorough  in  the  performance  of  their 
duty :  that  some  intermediate  local  officer  ought  to  be 
created,  to  whom  the  town  commissioners  might  report, 


1841.]  COMMON    SCHOOLS.  223 

who,  from  a  personal  view,  could  decide  on  the  propriety 
of  altering  school  districts,  or  creating  new  ones — who 
could  visit  the  schools,  and  admonish,  advise,  or  applaud, 
in  relation  to  the  manner  of  conducting  them — who 
should  constitute  a  common  depot  of  information  in  re- 
spect to  the  state  of  education  in  each  county,  and 
report  the  same  to  the  state  superintendent — and  through 
whom  the  state  superintendent  could  with  certainty  com- 
municate his  views  to  every  neighborhood  in  the  state. 

It  is  true  that  the  author  of  this  work  had,  at  a  state 
convention  of  the  friends  of  popular  education  held  at 
Utica  in  the  year  1837,  in  a  lecture  on  the  school  laws, 
delivered  on  that  occasion,  suggested  the  plan  of  creating 
the  office  of  county  superintendent,  and  had  soon  after 
published  a  skeleton  of  his  plan  in  the  "  Common  School 
Journal,"  then  printed  at  Albany,  by  J.  Orville  Taylor. 
But  these  humble  efforts  soon  ceased  to  excite  public  at- 
tention. Like  a  ripple  on  the  ocean,  the  movement  pro- 
duced by  them  soon  subsided.  It  required  official  influ- 
ence, it  required  the  energy  of  John  C.  Spencer  to  rouse 
to  effectual  action  the  public  mind  on  this  important  sub- 
ject, on  which  indeed  the  preservation  of  our  liberties 
and  civil  institutions  depend. 

Mr.  Spencer,  on  his  own  motion,  in  the  year  1840, 
appointed  in  every  town  in  the  state,  three  or  four  of  its 
most  respectable  citizens,  who  were  requested  personally 
to  visit  the  schools  in  their  respective  towns,  and  report 
to  the  state  superintendent  their  condition,  together  with 
such  suggestions  for  their  improvement  as  might  occur 
to  them.  This  duty  was  performed  by  the  visitors  with- 
out fee  or  reward,  and  full  reports  made  to  the  superin- 
tendent. In  these  reports  there  was  a  remarkable  con- 
currence in  the  opinion  of  all,  or  nearly  all  the  visiters. 


224  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

who  spoke  on  the  subject,  that  the  office  of  county  super- 
intendent ought  to  be  created. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  session  of  1841,  Mr.  Spencer 
made  his  annual  report  as  superintendent  of  common 
schools,  to  which  he  appended  the  reports  he  had  received 
from  the  visiters.  Mr.  S.  recommended  an  amendment 
of  the  common-school  law,  so  as  to  authorize  the  appoint- 
ment of  deputy  superintendents  in  each  county,  upon  the 
plan  we  have  intimated,  which  recommendation  he  sup- 
ported with  his  usual  ability. 

On  the  18*h  of  January,  a  petition  for  the  improvement 
indicated  by  the  secretary  of  state,  signed  by  Mr.  Bur- 
net,  a  highly  respectable  citizen  of  Onondaga  county, 
was  presented  and  read  in  the  assembly,  which,  together 
with  the  report  of  Mr.  Spencer,  and  the  reports  of  the 
visiters,  was  referred  to  the  committee  on  common 
schools,  who  soon  after  reported  a  bill  in  accordance 
with  the  views  of  the  state  superintendent.  There  was 
a  difference  of  opinion  among  the  members,  whether  the 
county  superintendents  should  be  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor and  senate,  the  regents  of  the  university,  the  secre- 
tary of  state,  or  the  board  of  supervisors  of  the  respective 
counties ;  but  the  assembly  finally  gave  a  preference  to 
the  latter  mode  of  appointment.  The  bill,  either  on  ac- 
count of  its  details,  or  of  the  principles  contained  in  it, 
was  opposed  by  Messrs.  L.  S.  Chatfield,  Loomis,  and 
Simmons,  and  supported  by  Mr.  A.  G.  Chatfield,  (of 
Steuben,  brother  of  Mr.  L.  S.,)  Doct.  Taylor,  of  Onon- 
daga, and  Mr.  Duer,  Mr.  Stoddard,  and  several  other 
members.  The  bill  finally  passed  the  assembly  by  the 
strong  vote  of  seventy-seven  to  twenty-one.  It  was  then 
sent  to  the  senate,  where  it  received  the  cordial  and  zeal- 
ous support  of  Gen.  Root,  and  passed  that  house  by 


1841.]  FRANCIS    DWIGHT.  225 

nearly  a  unanimous  vote.  The  bill  soon  after  became 
a  law. 

The  legislature  also  appropriated  the  sum  of  $2,800  to 
be  paid  to  the  printer  of  the  Common  School  Journal,  a 
periodical  paper,  which  was  entirely  devoted  to  the  cause 
of  popular  education,  one  copy  of  which  the  editor  or 
printer  was  required  to  send  regularly  to  the  clerk  of 
every  school  district  in  the  state.  This  journal,  it  was 
expected,  would  contain,  and,  as  it  afterwards  appeared, 
did  actually  contain,  all  the  modern  improvements  in  the 
construction  of  school-houses  and  the  management  and 
government  of  schools,  which  time  and  experience  de- 
veloped in  this  and  the  other  states  of  the  Union.  It  was 
conducted  by  FRANCIS  DWIGHT,  Esq.,  a  young  gentleman 
of  fine  talents,  who  came  from  Ontario  county,  where 
he  had  published  a  paper  of  a  character  similar  to  the  one 
he  established  in  Albany. 

We  have  said,  and  said  truly,  that  Francis  Dwight  was 
a  man  of  fine  talents,  but  having  mentioned  his  name  we 
ought  to  say  more.  A  purer  and  more  benevolent  heart 
never  warmed  the  human  breast  than  that  of  Mr.  Dwight. 
To  him  theological  and  political  contests  were  nothing ; 
but  the  education  of  the  rising  generation  and  the  culti- 
vation and  the  increase  of  the  mental  power  of  the 
masses  were  every  thing.  To  advance  this  darling  object 
of  his  soul  he  gave  up  all  other  pursuits  ;  and  he  died,  as 
he  lived,  the  enthusiastic  advocate  of  popular  education, 
and  the  devoted  friend  of  humanity. 

It  is  mortifying  and  painful  to  state,  what  the  truth  of 
history  requires  us  to  record,  that  it  is  within  our  per- 
sonal knowledge  that  the  trustees  of  many  school  dis- 
tricts refuse  to  take  from  the  post-office  this  excellent 
journal,  every  number  of  which  contains  much  important 
15 


226  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

and  useful  information,  the  cost  of  which  is  paid  from  the 
state  treasury,  because  they  are  unwilling  to  pay  from 
the  common  funds  of  their  respective  districts  the  sum 
of  one  shilling  a  year  for  postage !  We  should  despond 
and  sicken  at  the  prospect  before  us  of  human  progress, 
did  we  not  cherish  the  hope  that  the  generation  which 
is  to  succeed  us  will  be  influenced  by  more  enlightened, 
liberal,  and  patriotic  considerations. 

In  framing  this  bill,  and  procuring  its  passage,  Mr. 
Spencer  was  powerfully  aided  by  his  deputy-superintend- 
ent, S.  S.  RANDALL,  Esq.,  one  of  the  most  worthy  and 
excellent  of  men,  who  was  himself  competent  to  preside 
over  any  educational  bureau  in  the  United  States.  A 
deep  debt  of  gratitude  is  due  from  the  people  of  this  state 
to  this  talented  and  zealous  friend  of  popular  education, 
for  his  services  in  that  great  and  good  cause.  He  was 
by  profession  and  in  principle  a  whig,  and  was  brought 
into  the  department  while  the  government  was  adminis- 
tered by  the  whigs  ;  but  Col.  Young,  notwithstanding, 
when  he  became  secretary  of  state,  retained  him  in  of- 
fice. Mr.  Young,  it  is  true,  is  an  ardent  politician ;  but 
this  noble  act  proves  that  with  him  the  cause  of  popular 
education  is  paramount  to  all  others.  It  is  deeply  to  be 
regretted  that  the  state  of  the  health  of  Mr.  Randall  has 
compelled  him  to  abandon  the  office,  and  migrate  from 
the  state. 

We  are  well  aware  that  the  provisioa  in  the  school 
laws,  for  the  appointment  of  county  superintendents, 
not  long  after  it  went  into  operation  became  unpopu- 
lar; that  the  excitement  against  it  among  the  people 
continued  to  increase,  until,  at  the  fall  session  of  the 
legislature  in  1847,  its  repeal  became  inevitable. 

The   state  treasury  pays  annually  for  the  support  of 


1841.]  COMMON    SCHOOLS.  227 

common  schools  nearly  $300,000.  That  something  like 
the  law  which  provided  for  the  appointment  of  county 
superintendents  will  be  found  absolutely  necessary  to  se- 
cure the  prosperity  of  those  schools,  and  enable  them  to 
accomplish,  in  some  degree,  the  object  contemplated  by 
the  founders  of  the  common-school  fund,  and  ensure  the 
proper  application  of  the  immense  amount  of  money  an- 
nually paid  from  the  state  treasury  for  the  support  of 
popular  education,  we  cannot  doubt ;  that  the  law  estab- 
lishing county  superintendents,  at  least  in  theory,  prom- 
ised to  render  our  educational  system  as  perfect  as  it 
could  be,  consistent  with  the  genius  and  the  government 
and  constitution  of  the  state ;  and  that  this  law  has  re- 
ceived the  approbation,  and  indeed  the  eulogy,  of 
the  enlightened  friends  of  popular  education  in  every 
state  of  the  Union,  no  intelligent  man  will  deny. 
Why  then  did  it  become  unpopular  ?  Why  should  the 
masses,  who  are  so  deeply  interested  in  the  cause  it  was 
instituted  to  sustain  and  advance,  have  condemned  it  ? 
It  would  be  out  of  place  to  attempt  at  length  a  discussion 
of  these  questions,  but  we  may  be  permitted  briefly  to  re- 
mark, that  in  our  judgment,  there  was  one  defect  in  the 
!aw  which  was  the  remote  cause,  principally,  of  its  unpop- 
ularity. The  amount  of  compensation  allowed  to  county 
superintendents  was  precisely  wrong,  that  is  to  say,  it 
was  either  too  much  or  too  little.  An  annual  salary  of 
SI, 000  would  have  called  before  the  board  of  supervisors 
candidates  for  the  office,  of  talents,  of  highly-cultivated 
minds,  of  elevated  morals,  and  great  weight  of  character ; 
and  candidates  of  this  description  would  generally  have 
been  appointed.  The  amount  and  liberality  of  the  salary 
would  have  induced  the  incumbent  to  make  all  possible 
efforts  (and  who  can  doubt  but  that  they  would  have  been 


228  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

successful?)  to  render  their  services  acceptable  to  the 
community,  and  to  convince  the  people  of  the  value  of 
those  services. 

Again,  had  the  salary  been  restricted,  say  to  $100,  no 
man  would  have  sought  the  office  for  its  emolument,  and 
the  supervisors  would  have  been  left  to  seek  out  in  each 
county  some  benevolent  man  of  easy  fortune,  who  was 
willing  to  devote  a  portion  of  his  time  to  the  public  ser- 
vice in  aiding  to  form,  improve,  and  purify  the  minds  of 
the  children  and  youth  of  his  own  county.  Now  we  do 
not  even  by  implication  mean  to  pronounce  an  unfavor- 
able judgment  of  the  character  or  qualifications  of  the 
gentlemen  who  have  filled  the  office  of  superintendent  in 
the  various  counties  of  this  state  since  the  year  1841 ; 
we  know  that  many  of  them  were  competent  and  wor- 
thy men,  and  we  have  had  the  means  of  knowing,  for 
the  author  of  these  remarks  was  a  county  superintendent 
under  the  law  of  1841,  for  more  than  six  months  :  nev- 
ertheless, it  is  due  to  candor  and  truth  to  say,  that  a  sala- 
ry of  $500  would  hot  induce  a  man  of  even  ordinary 
standing  in  the  profession  of  law  or  medicine,  to  aban- 
don his  profession ;  and  clergymen  were  constitutionally 
illegible.  Retired  gentlemen,  whose  pecuniary  condition 
rendered  them  regardless  of  the  amount  of  compensation, 
would  not  enter  into  an  electioneering  competition  with 
young  men  who  eagerly  sought  the  office  for  temporary 
convenience.  The  candidates,  therefore,  generally  were 
either  young  men  who  resorted  to  this  employment  to 
enable  them  to  procure  the  means  of  prosecuting  (in  the 
mean  time,  perhaps)  their  professional  studies,  merchants 
who  had  failed  in  business,  and  who  required  a  year  or 
two  to  look  around  for  other  employment,  or  men  who 
had  been  unsuccessful  in  their  professions,  and  were  un- 


1841.]  HARRISON'S  INAUGURATION.  229 

able  or  unwilling  to  labor  for  a  livelihood.  With  such 
candidates,  urging  conflicting  claims  to  the  boards  of  su- 
pervisors, is  it  wonderful  that  those  boards  should  have 
sometimes  selected  men  illy  calculated  to  execute  the 
law  of  1841  according  to  its  spirit  and  intent? 

On  the  4th  of  March,  President  Harrison,  in  presence 
of  an  immense  audience,  took  the  oath  of  office,  and  de- 
livered his  inaugural  speech.  Addresses  on  such  occa- 
sions generally  contain  little  else  but  a  reiteration  of  gen- 
eral propositions  affirming  self-evident  truths,  admitted  by 
every  one  to  be  such,  and  professions  of  honesty  and 
patriotism.  The  only  remarks  which  strike  us  as  new  in 
the  speech  are.  that  the  general  avows  that  he  is  in  favor 
of  confining  the  duration  of  the  office  of  president  to  a 
single  term,  and  declares  that  "  under  no  circumstances" 
will  he  be  a  candidate  for  a  re-election.  He  also  protests 
against  the  interference  of  the  president  with  the  officers 
of  the  treasury,  and  pledges  himself  that  he  will  not  re- 
move a  secretary  of  the  treasury  without  evidence  of 
palpable  mal-conduct,  and  under  the  advisement  of  con- 
gress. It  was  not  singular  that  Gen.  Harrison  should 
express  his  apprehension  of  danger  of  a  violation  of  the 
constitution,  and  the  ultimate  overthrow  of  our  civil  in- 
stitutions by  means  of  the  increasing  and  inordinate  in- 
fluence of  the  president,  and  the  encroachment  of  the 
executive  on  the  other  departments  of  the  government. 
All  our  presidents  have,  with  great  apparent  concern,  ex- 
pressed similar  apprehensions,  and  warned  the  people  to 
be  on  their  guard  against  the  unconstitutional  exercise  of 
executive  power,  and  the  more  dangerous  influence  of 
executive  patronage ;  and  yet  we  are  much  mistaken  if, 
from  the  time  of  the  presidency  of  Gen.  Washington 
down  to  that  of  Col.  Polk,  every  individual  who  has  oc- 


230  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

cupied  that  high  station,  has  not  steadily  and  systematic- 
ally seized  every  plausible  occasion  to  add  to  the  power 
and  patronage  of  the  executive  department  of  the  nation. 
This  naturally,  and  perhaps  necessarily,  results  from  the 
constitution  of  man,  and  from  the  frame  of  our  govern- 
ment. Gen.  Harrison's  inaugural  speech,  however,  does, 
so  far  as  a  speech  on  such  occasions  can,  afford  evidence 
of  what  in  truth  he  possessed,  a  kind  and  patriotic  heart, 
and  a  liberal  mind.  A  correspondent  of  the  Journal  of 
Commerce,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  political  friend 
of  the  general,  writing  from  Washington  under  date  of 
the  4th  of  March,  rather  sarcastically  says  : 

"  I  have  no  doubt  this  speech,  as  it  appeal's,  is  the  gen- 
eral's own.  Mr.  Webster  or  Mr.  Ewing,  had  their  taste 
been  consulted,  would  not  have  put  so  much  about  Greece 
and  Rome  in  it.  It  shows,  however,  his  honest,  benevo- 
lent, and  truly  republican  character." 

The  new  senate,  which  contained  a  whig  majority, 
was  immediately  organized.  John  Tyler,  the  vice-presi- 
dent elect,  was  in  due  form  conducted  to  the  chair  as  its 
presiding  officer,  and  delivered  a  brief  address,  which  met 
the  approbation  and  received  the  applause  of  all  who 
heard  it. 

Soon  after  the  senate  had  organized,  the  president  sent 
in  his  norriinations  for  cabinet  officers.  They  consisted 
of  the  following  gentlemen  : 

Daniel  Webster,  Secretary  of  State. 

Thomas  Ewing,  of  Ohio,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

John  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  Secretary  of  War 

George  E.  Badger,  of  North  Carolina,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy. 

John  J.  Crittenden,  Attorney-general. 

Francis  Granger,  Postmaster-general. 


1841.]  MR.  WRIGHT  IN  THE  U.  S.  SENATE.  231 

These  nominations  were  confirmed  by  the  senate  with- 
out serious  opposition.  Mr.  Webster  received  a  unani- 
mous vote. 

Mr.  Wright,  whom  we  have  long  neglected  during  this 
great  political  revolution,  with  that  philosophical  calm- 
ness of  mind  peculiar  to  him,  pursued  quietly  the  even 
tenor  of  his  way.  Courteous  to  all,  he  manifested  no 
restlessness,  mortification,  or  irritability.  No  unkind  re- 
mark escaped  him.  Once,  indeed,  when  Mr.  Crittenden, 
of  Kentucky,  in  the  course  of  rather  an  excited  speech, 
in  which  he  alluded  in  triumph  to  the  changes  in  the 
senate  which  had  left  the  democratic  party  in  the  minor- 
ity, charged  them  with  sneering  at  the  measures  proposed 
by  the  majority,  instead  of  showing,  by  grave  and  sound 
arguments,  that  those  measures  were  wrong,  Mr.  Wright, 
in  replying  to  him,  admitted,  that  if  such  course  had  been 
pursued  by  the  minority,  it  was  unjustifiable  ;  "  but,"  said 
Mr.  W.,  "  while  it  is  wrong  for  the  minority  to  sneer,  it 
does  not  become  the  majority  to  swagger."  This  rebuke, 
though  unquestionably  just  on  that  occasion,  was  better 
deserved  by  some  other  members  than  Mr.  Crittenden, 
who  was  generally  exceedingly  courteous  and  gentleman- 
ly in  debate.  After  the  vote  was  taken  on  Mr.  Web- 
ster's nomination,  Mr.  Wright  advanced  to  him,  and  ta- 
king him  by  the  hand  in  a  manner  the  most  cordial,  com- 
plimented his  great  rival  on  his  appointment  as  secretary. 
Little  minds  are  malignant  and  envious  at  the  success  of 
a  rival ;  great  minds  are  not  subject  to  the  control  of 
those  debasing  passions.  Little  minds  are  inflated  and 
insolent  when  successful  over  their  opponents  ;  the  truly 
great  are  neither  elated  by  success  nor  depressed  by  de- 
feat. 

The  pressure  upon  Gen.  Harrison  for  appointments 


232  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

was  extreme.  It  came  from  every  part  of  this  great 
country.  Candidates  crowded  the  city  of  Washington, 
and  the  president's  house  was  literally  besieged  with 
eager  applicants  for  office.  This,  under  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case,  was  not  remarkable.  The  federalists, 
ever  since  the  election  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  1801,  had 
been  generally  excluded  from  office,  except  during  the 
four  years'  administration  of  Mr.  J.  Q.  Adams,  when 
they  enjoyed  a  small  portion  of  the  national  patronage. 
Upon  the  formation  of  the  whig  party,  in  1828,  a  large 
majority  of  the  federalists  became  members  of  the  new 
party.  All  who  had  supported  the  election  of  Mr.  Har- 
rison, now  made  equal  claims,  without  regard  to  the  old 
distinctions  and  party  lines,  on  the  patronage  at  the  dis- 
posal of  Gen.  Harrison.  These  numerous  applications 
must  have  pressed  hard  upon  the  kind  and  generous  mind 
of  the  president,  and  occasioned  deep  and  painful  anx- 
iety. Many  believe  that  his  extreme  mental  agitation 
shortened  his  days.  "  Uneasy  lies  the  head  that  wears  a 
crown." 

Shortly  after  his  inauguration,  the  president  issued  a 
proclamation  calling  an  extra  session  on  the  31st  day  of 
May  then  next.  It  bore  date  on  the  17th  day  of  March ; 
but  by  a  decree  of  an  inscrutable  Providence,  the  general 
was  not  to  live  to  see  that  day.  In  the  latter  part  of 
March,  while  engaged,  as  was  his  habit,  in  a  long  walk, 
he  was  overtaken  by  a  rain,  accompanied  with  a  severe 
cold  wind,  by  which  he  caught  a  cold,  which  induced  a 
pleuretic  disease,  of  which  he  died  on  the  4th  day  of  April, 
eight  days  after  the  attack.  He  possessed  a  hale  and 
vigorous  constitution,  and  was  then  but  a  few  months 
over  the  age  of  sixty  years.  His  disease  therefore,  in 
order  to  have  made  so  rapid  a  progress  to  its  fatal  termi- 


1841.]          DEATH  OF  GEN.  HARRISON.  233 

nation,  must  have  been  of  the  most  acute  kind.  Thus, 
within  a  single  month  after  he  entered  the  capitol  of  the 
nation  accompanied  with  the  congratulations  of  an  im- 
mense concourse  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  commenced 
performing  the  duties  of  his  high  and  exalted  office,  he 
Was  numbered  with  the  dead. 

It  is  well  said  by  a  late  writer,*  that  "  the  shouts  of  the 
multitude,  the  swelling  notes  of  martial  music,  the  waving 
plumes,  and  the  gay  trappings,  gave  place  to  the  mourn- 
ful lamentation,  the  low  tones  of  the  muffled  drum,  the 
black  pall,  and  the  funeral  hearse.  The  opening  of  the 
month  was  bright  and  cheering — its  close  was  dark  and 
dreary.  It  was  like  a  day  in  the  early  spring.  The  sun 
rose  in  joy  and  gladness,  in  its  unclouded  majesty  and 
splendor — it  set  in  sorrow  and  gloom." 

The  deep  and  anxious  interest  which  this  good  man 
felt  in  the  civil  institutions  and  prosperity  of  his  country, 
is  evinced  by  the  last  words  he  was  heard  to  utter. 

Shortly  before  he  expired,  his  mental  powers  became 
confused,  and  he  was  partially  deranged.  In  that  condi- 
tion he  thought  only  of  his  country ;  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  government  would  be  administered  by  his  suc- 
cessor, pressed  hard  upon  his  mind.  His  attending  phy- 
sician, Doct.  Worthington,  was  starfding  by  his  bedside. 
By  a  species  of  mental  illusion,  incident  to  the  state  in 
which  he  then  was,  the  president  evidently  imagined  him 
to  be  Mr.  Tyler.  "  Sir,"  said  he,  addressing  the  doc- 
tor, "  I  wish  you  to  understand  the  true  principles  of  the 
government — /  wish  them  carried  out — I  ASK  NOTHING 
MORE." 

All  eyes  were  now  anxiously  turned  upon  Mr.  Tyler. 


»  Mr.  Jenkins. 


234  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

In  what  manner  he  would  administer  the  government,  was 
now  a  subject  of  earnest  inquiry  and  intense  curiosity 
Many,  and  we  confess  we  were  among  the  number,  be- 
lieved that  his  political  course  would  be  in  accordance 
with  the  views  of  Mr.  Clay,  and  in  fact  that  the  new 
administration  would  in  reality  be  a  Clay  administration. 
This  belief  was  founded  on  the  fact,  that  while  Mr.  Ty- 
ler was  in  the  United  States  senate  with  Mr.  Clay,  it 
was  generally  understood  that  Mr.  C.  was  his  favorite. 
It  is  certain  he  was  his  file-leader.  At  the  Harris  burgh 
convention,  held  by  the  whigs  in  1840,  for  nominating 
a  candidate  for  president,  Mr.  Tyler  was  a  member,  and 
an  ardent  supporter  of  Mr.  Clay  in  preference  to  Gen. 
Harrison.  After  the  latter  was  nominated  by  a  majority 
of  voices,  in  order  to  conciliate  the  friends  of  Mr.  Clay, 
the  majority  determined  to  select  one  of  his  most  zealous 
friends  as  candidate  for  vice-president,  and  with  that  view 
they  fixed  upon  Mr.  Tyler.  The  opinion  we  have  men- 
tioned was  founded  on  these  circumstances.  The  event 
proved  that  we  were  entirely  mistaken. 

The  extra  congress  convened  in  pursuance  of  the  call, 
on  the  31st  of  May,  and  after  the  organization  of  the 
house  of  representatives,  by  the  choice  of  Mr.  White  of 
Kentucky  for  speaker,  the  message  of  Mr.  Tyler  was 
read.  It  contained  nothing  from  which  it  could  be  in- 
ferred that  he  would  vary  from  the  general  principles  of 
the  whigs  or  their  policy,  except  some  expressions  which 
seemed  to  indicate  that  he  was  opposed  to  the  incorpora- 
tion of  a  bank,  vested  with  the  powers  and  immunities 
of  the  late  Bank  of  the  United  States.  He  recommend- 
ed the  repeal  of  the  sub-treasury  law,  and  intimated  that 
&  fiscal  agency,  as  he  termed  it,  might  be  established  as  a 
substitute  for  a  chartered  bank.  On  the  whole,  his  me?- 


1841.]  CONGRESSIONAL    PROCEEDINGS.  235 

sage  left  the  public  as  much  in  the  dark  as  to  his  future 
course,  as  they  were  before  its  delivery. 

In  the  senate,  Mr.  Clay  was  made  chairman  of  the 
finance  committee  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Wright.  Both 
houses  proceeded  with  great  expedition ;  and  nine  days 
from  the  commencement  of  the  session,  a  bill  was  passed 
repealing  the  sub-treasury  law,  all  the  democratic  mem- 
bers of  course  voting  against  it. 

A  general  bankrupt  bill  was  passed,  against  the  vigor- 
ous opposition  of  Mr.  Wright.  This  bill  received  the 
approbation  of  the  president,  and  became  a  law  in  the 
month  of  August. 

Mr.  Clay  also  introduced  a  bill  for  the  distribution  of 
the  avails  of  the  land  sales  among  the  several  states. 
This  bill  lingered  long  in  the  senate ;  the  treasury  was 
embarrassed,  and  it  had  become  necessary  either  to  con- 
tinue the  practice  of  issuing  treasury  notes,  or  to  raise 
by  loan  several  millions  of  dollars.  It  was  contended 
that  so  large  a  portion  of  the  revenue  as  was  derived 
from  the  land  sales,  could  not  at  that  time  be  spared 
without  great  inconvenience.  The  effect  would  be  to 
render  it  necessary  to  raise  the  tariff  of  duties  on  impor- 
tations, in  order  to  defray  the  current  expenses  of  the  gov- 
ernment, a  measure  which,  it  was  alleged,  the  people  were 
by  no  means  prepared  to  approve.  These  views  were 
presented  by  Mr.  Wright  with  so  much  tact  and  address, 
that  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  several  whig  votes  in  sup- 
port of  an  amendment  offered  by  him,  which  provided 
that  no  distribution  should  be  made  at  any  time  when 
the  average  rate  of  duties  should  exceed  twenty  per  cent. 
The  amendment  was  adopted,  and  in  that  form  the  bill 


All  intelligent  men  saw  that  either  something  like  the 


236  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YOKK.  [1841. 

sub-treasury  scheme  must  be  established,  or  a  bank  must 
be  chartered.  The  whig  party,  and  especially  Mr.  Clay, 
was  very  desirous  to  pass  a  law  to  charter  a  national 
bank.  With  Mr.  Clay  this  was  a  fondly-cherished  and 
most  favored  measure.  From  the  outgivings  of  Mr.  Ty- 
ler in  his  first  message,  and  on  other  occasions,  serious 
apprehensions  were  entertained  that  he  would  veto  a  bank 
bill ;  and  the  jealousy  of  the  whigs  of  the  fidelity  of  Mr. 
Tyler  to  their  party,  which  commenced  soon  after  the 
death  of  Gen.  Harrison,  was  increased  by  these  appre- 
hensions. The  bill  for  chartering  a  bank  was  introduced 
by  Mr.  Clay,  and  passed  the  senate  and  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives in  the  month  of  August.  It  is  hardly  necessary 
to  add  that  it  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Wright,  and  the  demo- 
cratic members  of  both  houses  generally.  The  president 
retained  the  bill  for  several  days  after  it  came  into  his  pos- 
session, but  finally,  on  the  16th  day  of  August,  he  sent  a 
message  to  the  senate  vetoing  the  bill.  All  doubts  were 
then  removed  :  "  the  long  agony,"  as  some  of  the  whig 
newspapers  announced,  "  was  over."  The  position  of  Mr. 
Tyler  was  now  known.  He  had,  in  opposition  to  the 
unanimous  advice  of  the  very  able  cabinet  which  had 
been  formed  by  Gen.  Harrison,  defeated  by  his  single  act 
a  most  favorite  measure  of  the  party  which  elected  him. 
But  probably,  partly  for  the  purpose  of  placing  Mr.  Tyler 
clearly  in  the  wrong,  in  the  view  of  all  his  whig  friends, 
a  member  from  Pennsylvania  introduced  a  bill  into  the 
house  of  representatives  for  the  creation  of  what  was  de- 
nominated a  "  Fiscal  Bank."  This  bill  was  divested  of 
some  of  trie  features  which  were  contained  in  the  first, 
and  which  Mr.  Tyler  in  his  veto  message  had  pointed  out 
as  objectionable.  This  last  bill  passed  both  houses  by  a 
party  vote,  and  was  sent  to  the  president,  who  on  the  9th 


1841.]  MR.  TYLER'S  CABINET.  237 

of  September  vetoed  it.  The  whig  party  now  openly 
declared  war  against  him.  The  cabinet  was  dissolved  : 
all  its  members  retired,  except  Mr.  Webster,  who  was 
induced  to  remain.  Mr.  Tyler  thereupon  nominated 
Walter  Forward,  secretary  of  the  treasury  ;  John  M'Lean, 
secretary  of  war ;  A.  P.  Upshur,  secretary  of  the  navy  ; 
Charles  A.  Wickliffe,  postmaster-general;  and  Hugh  H. 
Legare,  attorney-general.  These  nominations  were  all 
confirmed  by  the  senate.  Judge  M'Lean  declined  the 
appointment  of  secretary  of  war,  and  thereupon  John  C. 
Spencer,  of  this  state,  was  appointed  to  that  office.  Mr. 
Spencer,  it  is  said,  felt  some  embarrassment  in  accepting 
the  appointment,  because  the  whig  state  committee  had 
lately  called  a  convention,  and  in  the  printed  call  had 
denounced  with  severity  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Tyler.  He, 
however,  did  accept  the  proffered  appointment.  We  re- 
mark, in  passing,  that  Mr.  Spencer  carried  with  him  to 
Washington  all  that  energy  of  conduct  and  habit,  of  per- 
severing and  indomitable  labor,  for  which  he  was  distin- 
guished, so  that,  as  far  as  related  to  what  may  strictly  be 
called  the  business  concerns  of  government,  he  was  the 
life  and  soul  of  the  administration  of  which  he  was  a 
member. 

In  these  revolutions  and  counter-revolutions  at  Wash- 
ington, Mr.  Wright  took  no  part.  He  neither  favored 
the  Clay  whigs,  or  Tyler  whigs,  or  Tyler  democrats,  (and 
indeed  there  were  very  few  of  the  two  latter  classes,)  but 
he  kept  on  the  same  unvarying  course  he  had  pursued 
during  Mr.  Van  Buren's  administration,  and  acted  and 
voted  on  all  questions  according  to  his  sense  of  right  and 
sound  policy,  without  any  regard  to  the  storms  of  faction 
that  were  howling  around  him. 

At  the  July  term  held  this  year  in  the  city  of  Utica  the 


238  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

case  of  Alexander  M'Leod  came  on  to  be  heard  on  a  re- 
turn to  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  This  case  had  produced 
much  excitement  in  the  western  parts  of  the  state,  and  in 
the  province  of  Canada.  It  had  been  the  subject  of  con- 
siderable correspondence  between  the  governments  of  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  and  had  excited  the  at- 
tion  of  the  American  congress  and  the  British  parlia- 
ment. We  shall  therefore  attempt  to  give  a  brief  history 
of  it. 

In  a  preceding  volume*  we  have  given  some  account 
of  the  insurrection  in  Canada,  in  1837,  and  of  the  persons 
from  the  United  States  who,  under  the  name  of  patriots, 
joined  the  insurgents. 

In  December,  a  body  of  Americans  to  the  number  of 
some  two  or  three  hundred,  with  Rensselaer  Van  Rens- 
selaer  for  their  leader,  took  possession  of  an  island  in  the 
Niagara  river,  claimed  by  the  British,  situate  between 
Lewiston,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  and  Chippewa,  on 
the  Canada  shore.  This  party  were  furnished  with 
arms  and  munitions  of  war,  and  employed  themselves  oc- 
casionally by  firing  cannon-shot  into  the  village  and 
among  the  inhabitants  of  Chippewa.  They  held  forcible 
possession  of  the  island  till  some  time  in  January  follow- 
ing. For  the  protection  of  the  inhabitants,  and  in  order 
to  repel  these  attacks,  the  British  government  called  out  a 
military  force,  amounting,  as  was  alleged,  to  2,500  men, 
which  was  stationed  at  Chippewa,  and  commanded  by 
Col.  Allan  McNabb.  A  steamer  called  the  Caroline, 
owned  by  Mr.  Wells  of  Buffalo,  it  was  asserted,  had  been 
chartered  by  the  party  at  Navy  Island,  to  ply  between 
Schlosser,  near  Lewiston,  and  the  island,  for  the  purpose 


See  2  Political  History,  p.  487. 


1841.]  CASE  OF  M'LEOD.  239 

of  transporting  from  the  state  of  New  York  provisions, 
ammunition,  and  men  to  the  island,  for  the  aid  and  sup- 
port of  the  assailants  of  Chippewa  and  the  insurgents  in 
Canada.  It  was,  however,  insisted,  by  the  owner  of  the 
Caroline,  that  she  was  to  be  employed  to  carry  freight 
between  Buffalo  and  Schlosser,  and  to  be  used  as  a  ferry- 
boat only  between  Schlosser  and  Navy  Island.  It  is, 
nevertheless,  certain  that  she  did  carry  some  arms  and 
military  stores  to  the  occupants  of  the  island,  and  that  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  29th  of  December  she  made  two  or 
three  trips  between  the  island  and  Schlosser.  On  that 
evening  Col.  McNabb  fitted  out  an  expedition  of  several 
small  boats,  manned  with  armed  men  from  Chippewa, 
who  were  commanded  to  seize  by  force  the  Caroline, 
wherever  she  could  be  found,  and  bring  her  into  Chippe- 
wa, or  destroy  her.  The  party  proceeded  to  execute  the 
commands  of  Col.  McNabb,  and  found  the  boat  fastened 
to  the  dock  at  Schlosser,  and  there  made  a  hostile  attack 
upon  her  by  swords  and  fire-arms,  and  finally  got  her  in 
their  possession,  towed  her  into  the  stream,  and  left  her 
to  float  down  the  Niagara  Falls.  This  transaction  oc- 
curred about  midnight ;  and  during  the  affray,  one  James 
Durfee,  a  hand  employed  to  manage  the  Caroline,  was 
shot  through  the  head  by  a  pistol  or  musket  ball,  and 
found  dead  on  the  next  morning. 

•Alexander  M'Leod  resided  at  or  near  Chippewa,  and 
was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  Buffalo  and  Lewiston,  and 
other  places  on  the  Niagara  frontier.  In  the  early  part 
of  January,  1841,  he  was  in  the  county  of  Niagara,  and 
there  in  company  with  some  American  citizens,  and  prob- 
ably excited  by  passion  or  stimulating  liquor,  declared 
that  he  was  one  of  the  party  who  seized  the  Caroline,  and 
that  he  himself  shot  Durfee.  After  this  public  declara- 


240  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OP  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

tion,  a  warrant  for  his  apprehension  on  a  charge  of  mur- 
der was  issued,  on  which  he  was  arrested  and  committed 
to  the  jail  at  Lockport.  M'Leod,  finding  the  matter  be- 
coming thus  serious,  applied  by  his  counsel  to  be  admit- 
ted to  bail,  and  the  officer  to  whom  the  application  was 
made,  granted  it.  The  people  of  Lockport  hearing  of  this 
decision,  and  that  M'Leod  was  to  be  permitted  to  go  at 
large,  became  highly  excited  and  indignant.  They  rushed 
to  the  courthouse,  and  there  formed  themselves  into  a 
meeting  for  the  purpose  of  protesting  against  the  dis- 
charge of  M'Leod  from  imprisonment  on  any  terms.  The 
two  citizens  who  had  become  his  bail  became  intimida- 
ted, and  the  judge  rescinded  the  order  he  had  made  ad- 
mitting the  prisoner  to  bail.  The  proceedings  are  de- 
scribed by  a  writer  from  Lockport,  who  evidently  is 
disposed  to  represent  things  as  favorable  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  village  as  could  in  any  way  be  reconciled  to 
truth,  in  the  following  manner  : 

"LocKFORT,  Jan.  28,  1841. 

"GENTLEMEN  : — M'Leod  was  yesterday  admitted  to  bail 
by  one  of  our  judges,  before  whom  his  last  examination 
was  held,  by  whom  he  was  committed.  Some  excite- 
ment among  our  citizens  was  the  consequence.  A  meet- 
ing was  held  at  the  courthouse  yesterday  morning,  which 
was  adjourned  over  until  this  evening.  Two  of  our  cki- 
zens  had  become  M'Leod's  sureties,  after  having  been 
indemnified  to  the  amount  of  the  bail,  $5,000.  A  very 
large  majority  of  those  who  composed  the  meeting  to- 
day, disapproved  of  the  proceeding  of  admitting  to  bail, 
and  a  disposition  was  manifested  to  strongly  censure  those 
who  had  suffered  their  names  to  be  used  for  that  pur- 
pose. 


1841.]  M'LEOD'S  CASE.  241 

"  One  of  the  bondsmen  came  before  the  meeting  upon  an 
invitation  conveyed  to  him  by  a  committee  of  the  meet- 
ing, and  made  a  frank  and  satisfactory  statement  of  the 
motives  which  had  actuated  him,  at  the  same  time  ex- 
pressing his  willingness  to  withdraw  from  the  position  he 
had  assumed,  after  the  demonstration  he  had  witnessed  of 
popular  feeling  upon  the  subject.  It  is  due  to  this  gentle- 
man to  add,  that  in  this  step  he  was  evidently  not  intimi- 
dated by  any  apprehension  of  personal  consequences,  but 
it  rather  seemed  on  his  part  a  concession  of  what  he  con- 
sidered due  to  a  public  sentiment.  M'Leod  was  yet  in 
custody,  the  legal  process  not  having  yet  been  served  up- 
on the  sheriff.  The  proceeding  of  admitting  to  bail,  so 
far  as  it  had  gone,  was  rescinded. 

"  While  the  meeting  was  in  session,  a  process  was  put 
in  the  hands  of  the  sheriff  against  M'Leod,  requiring  bail 
to  the  amount  of  $7,000.  It  is  the  commencement  of 
a  suit  brought  by  Mr.  Wells,  the  owner  of  the  Caroline, 
for  private  damages  ;  so  that  the  amount  of  bail  now  re- 
quired to  give  him  his  liberty,  would  be  $12,000." 

As  soon  as  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  M'Leod 
came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  British  government,  it  de- 
clared that  it  fully  recognised  the  act  of  the  seizure  of  the 
Caroline,  and  was  responsible  for  the  consequences  which 
might  result  from  it.  On  the  12th  of  March,  Mr.  Fox,  the 
envoy  of  Great  Britain,  residing  at  Washington,  officially 
communicated  this  avowal  of  his  government  to  Mr. 
Webster,  then  secretary  of  state,  and  formally  repeated  a 
demand  he  had  before  made  on  the  government  of  the 
United  States  that  M'Leod  should  be  immediately  re- 
leased. 

Mr.  Webster,  in  his  reply,  explained  to  Mr.  Fox 
16 


242  POLITICAL  HISTORY   OF  NEW   YORK.  [1841. 

that  the  national  government  had  no  legal  authority  to 
interfere  with  the  judicial  proceedings  of  an  independent 
state  ;  but  if  we  rightly  recollect,  (for  we  have  not  Mr. 
Webster's  letter  before  us,)  he  admitted  that  the  proper 
authority,  under  the  circumstances,  ought  to  discharge 
M'Leod.  The  secretary  stated  that  the  case  was  un- 
der the  control  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  and  he  strongly  intimated  his  expectation 
that  they  would  take  the  same  view  of  it  which  he  did. 
In  the  mean  time  M'Leod  had  been,  indicted  for  the 
murder  of  Durfee  by  a  grand -jury  of  the  county  of  Ni- 
agara. 

In  this  state,  the  case  came  before  the  Supreme  Court 
at  Utica.  The  cause  was  argued  by  A.  Bradley  and  J. 
A.  Spencer,  then  district-attorney  of  the  United  States 
for  the  northern  district  of  New  York,  on  the  part  of 
M'Leod,  and  by  Mr.  Hall,  the  attorney-general,  in  behalf 
of  the  people. 

The  court  held  the  case  under  advisement  for  some 
time,  but  at  length  Judge  Cowen  delivered  an  elaborate 
opinion,  which  occupies  47  octavo  pages  in  the  first  vol- 
ume of  Hill's  Reports,*  in  which  he  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion, that  M'Leod  ought  not  to  be  discharged  from 
imprisonment  until  he  should  be  tried  by  a  jury  of  the 
country. 

It  is  not  our  intention  to  attempt  to  present  even  the 
outlines  or  skeleton  of  the  arguments  of  the  learned 
judge ;  much  less  do  we  feel  authorized  to  criticise  or 
condemn  it.  We  must,  however,  take  the  liberty  of 
saying,  that  according  to  the  limited  and  superficial 
views  we  had  been  able  to  take  of  the  case,  the  decision 


*  See  1  Hill,  377. 


1841.]  JUDGE  COWEN'S  OPINION.  243 

of  Justice  Cowen  struck  us  with  surprise  and  astonish- 
ment. 

We  knew  that  a  state  of  war  might  exist  between  two 
nations,  or  the  people  of  two  nations,  without  having 
been  declared  by  either.  We  had  supposed  that  actual 
war  existed  between  the  Canadian  government  and  the 
insurgents,  and  those  who  aided  them  :  that  in  sup- 
pressing the  insurrection  and  repelling  invasion,  the 
British  had  a  right  to  use  military  force  :  that  the 
military  officer  in  command  has  a  right  to  direct  a  sub- 
ordinate or  private  to  perform  such  acts  as  in  his  judg- 
ment may  be  necessary  for  defence  against,  or  annoy- 
ance of,  an  enemy :  that  the  subordinate  and  private 
are  bound  to  obey  such  order :  that  if,  in  the  execu- 
tion of  it,  the  rights  of  a  neutral  power  are  violated,  such 
neutral  power  may  resist,  and  prevent  by  force  such 
violation,  or  it  may  demand  indemnity  and  satisfaction 
of  the  nation  whose  officer  has  violated  its  neutral 
rights.  That  the  rule  of  law  that  would  subject  M'Leod 
to  trial  and  execution,  would  lead  to  this  most  palpable 
absurdity : — if  M'Leod  had  refused  to  obey  the  orders 
of  McNabb,  recognised  as  they  were  by  the  highest  au- 
thority in  Canada  and  in  England,  he  would  have 
been  liable  to  be  tried  by  a  court-martial  in  Canada, 
and  shot.  If  he  obeyed,  he  was  liable,  five  years  after- 
wards, to  be  seized  in  the  state  of  New  York,  tried  by  a 
jury,  and  hung.  Is  there,  can  there  be  any  escape  from 
this  absurdity  ? 

It  is  said  the  other  justices,  Nelson  and  Bronson, 
yielded  reluctantly  to,  instead  of  really  concurring  in, 
the  opinion  of  Judge  Cowen. 

Justice  Cowen  was  not  only  a  learned  and  able,  but  a 
strictly  honest  judge.  How,  then,  could  he  arrive  at  so 


244  POLITICAL,  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

strange  a  conclusion  ?  The  judge  was  an  acquaintance 
and  friend  of  Mr.  Papineau,  late  speaker  of  the  assem- 
bly in  Lower  Canada,  and  who,  though  a  very  worthy 
man,  was  a  leader  of  the  malecontents,  and  finally,  with 
his  son,  fled  from  Canada  to  the  United  States.  The 
generous  heart  of  Justice  Cowen  sympathized  with  the 
exile  ;  and  the  son,  who  though  an  alien,  was,  by  special 
act  of  the  legislature,  admitted  an  attorney  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  was  a  peculiar  favorite  of  Judge  C.  May 
not  these  circumstances  have  impressed  on  the  pure  and 
honest  mind  of  Justice  Cowen,  of  course  without  being 
himself  aware  of  it,  a  feeling  calculated  to  create  a  bias, 
which  would  render  his  mental  action  less  free  and  clear 
on  any  question  relating  to  the  Canadian  insurrection, 
than  on  most  others  ? 

The  opinion  of  Judge  Cowen  was  reviewed  by  Judge 
Tallmadge,  of  the  Superior  Court  of  New  York,  with 
great  learning  and  ability.  To  the  correctness  of  the 
reasoning  and  conclusions  of  Mr.  Tallmadge,  several  of 
the  most  distinguished  lawyers  and  jurists  in  the  United 
States  bore  full  and  ample  testimony  in  their  letters  ad- 
dressed to  him  .on  the  subject,  which  have  since  been 
published  with  a  second  edition  of  the  review.*  Chan- 
cellor Kent,  in  a  note  to  the  author,  says : 

<:  It  [the  review]  is  very  ably  executed.  It  is  clear, 
precise,  neat,  logical,  accurate,  and  entirely  conclusive 
on  every  point.  I  should  have  been  proud  if  I  had  been 
the  author  of  it." 

Chief-justice  Spencer,  in  a  letter  of  some  length  to 
Judge  Tallmadge,  expresses  his  most  decided  approba- 
tion of  the  doctrines  advocated  in  the  review.  Robert 


*  See  26  Weudell,  663. 


1841.]  M'LEOD'S  TRIAL.  245 

Minot  Sherman,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Connecticut : 
John  Bannister  Gibson,  chief-justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Pennsylvania,  and  M.  C.  Rogers,  judge  of  the 
same  court ;  Simon  Greenleaf,  LL.D.,  the  learned  pro- 
fessor of  law  in  Harvard  University ;  Daniel  Webster, 
John  Duer,  an  eminent  counsellor  of  New  York,  Theron 
Metcalf,  law  reporter  in  Massachusetts,  and  Messrs. 
Berrian,  Huntington,  Clayton,  Crittenden,  and  Choate, 
members  of  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  all  by  writ- 
ten communications  declared  entire  concurrence  in  the 
views  expressed  by  Judge  Tallmadge. 

The  review  of  Judge  Tallmadge  was  itself  reviewed 
by  Mr.  Hill,  the  reporter  of  the  opinions  of  the  New 
York  Supreme  Court,  in  doing  which  he  defended  the 
opinion  of  Judge  Cowen,  of  course,  with  much  skill, 
learning,  and  ability.* 

On  account  of  the  preconceived  opinions  on  the  mer- 
its of  the  case  of  M'Leod,  which  it  was  supposed  had 
been  formed  in  the  county  of  Niagara,  his  trial,  by  a 
special  order,  was  directed  to  be  held  in  the  county  of 
Oneida.  It  came  on  before  Judge  Gridley  of  the  fifth 
district.  We  have  reason  to  know  that  that  able  law- 
yer and  excellent  judge  did  not,  in  his  individual  opin- 
ion, concur  with  Judge  Cowen ;  but  nevertheless,  he 
conducted  the  trial,  as  he  should  have  done,  on  the  prin- 
ciple that  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court,  as  delivered 
by  Judge  Cowen,  was  the  law  of  the  land,  leaving  to 
the  accused,  in  case  of  his  conviction  by  the  jury,  to 
pursue  his  defence  by  an  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States.  The  trial  continued  several 
days,  and  was  of  course  ably  conducted,  the  attorney- 


*  See  Appendix  to  3  Hill,  635. 


3  46  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

general  Hall,  being  counsel  for  the  people,  and  Joshua 
A.  Spencer  for  the  prisoner.  After  a  long  and  tedious 
examination  of  witnesses,  it  turned  out  that  M'Leod  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  killing  of  Durfee.*  It  appeared 
that  he  had  foolishly  boasted  of  doing  an  act  in  which 
he  was  not  at  all  concerned ;  he  was  proved  to  be  a 
swaggerer,  but  not  a  homicide ;  and  the  jury,  after  a 
very  brief  deliberation,  brought  in  a  verdict  of  not  guilty. 
Thus  ended  an  affair  which  at  one  time  threatened  to 
produce  a  war,  with  all  its  attendant  calamities,  between 
two  great  and  friendly  nations. 

In  the  month  of  August,  William  Kent,  the  only  son 
of  Chancellor  Kent,  an  able  and  accomplished  lawyer, 
was  appointed  circuit  judge  of  the  first  circuit,  that  of- 
fice having  become  vacant  by  the  disability  of  Judge 
Edwards,  who,  on  account  of  his  age,  could  no  longer 
constitutionally  discharge  its  functions.  This  was  one 
of  the  best  appointments  made  by  Gov.  Seward.  Con- 
stant in  his  application  to  business,  affable  and  kind  in 
his  deportment,  candid  and  impartial  in  his  decisions, 
and  deeply  learned  in  the  law,  Mr.  Kent  deservedly 
obtained  the  respect  and  confidence  and  the  love  and 
regard  of  the  members  of  the  bar,  and  the  public  in 
general.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  ill  health  re- 
quired him  so  soon  to  retire  from  the  New  York  judi- 
ciary, of  which  he  was  one  of  its  brightest  ornaments. 

Mr.  Bates  Cooke,  who,  upon  resigning  the  office  of 
comptroller,  was  appointed  bank  commissioner,  died 
this  year.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  and  most  effi- 


*  M'Leod,  in  his  affidavit,  on  which  he  applied  to  be  discharged  on  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus,  swore  that  he  was  not  even  with  the  party  sent  out 
by  M'Nabb  to  destroy  die  Caroline. 


1841.]  DEMOCRATIC    TRIUMPH.  247 

cient  antimasons  of  the  West,  during  the  prevalence  of 
the  excitement  against  masonry,  and  was  elected,  we 
believe,  more  than  once,  a  member  of  congress  by  anti- 
masonic  votes.  We  had  no  personal  acquaintance  with 
Mr.  Cooke,  but  have  every  reason  to  believe  he  was  a 
sound-minded  and  estimable  man. 

The  election  in  November  resulted  in  the  complete 
and  unexpected  triumph  of  the  democratic  party.  We 
say  unexpected,  because,  although  calculating  men  on 
both  sides  anticipated  the  election  of  a  democratic  ma- 
jority of  the  members  of  the  assembly,  the  senate  being 
a  permanent  body,  and  the  whig  majority  in  that  house 
in  1841  being  quite  large,  few  men  before  the  election 
entertained  the  opinion  that  there  would  be  a  change  of 
political  power  in  that  branch  of  the  legislature  so  early 
as  the  year  1842. 

This  great  change  may  have  been  produced  from 
some  or  all  of  the  following  causes : — A  considerable 
number  of  the  more  reflecting  portion  of  the  commu- 
nity viewed  with  apprehension  and  alarm  the  rapid 
accumulation  of  the  state  debt,  occasioned  by  the  ex- 
penditure of  four  millions  of  dollars  a  year  in  enlarging 
the  Erie  and  in  constructing  the  Genesee  Valley  and 
Black  River  canals.  It  was  true  this  expenditure  had 
been  authorized  in  1838,  as  well  by  a  democratic  senate 
as  a  whig  assembly  ;  yet  it  was  well  known  that  Col. 
Young  in  the  senate,  and  Mr.  Flagg  and  other  leading 
democrats,  not  members  of  the  legislature,  were  warmly 
opposed  to  those  measures ;  and  previous  to  the  elec- 
tion of  1841,  the  democratic  newspapers  with  great 
unanimity  denounced  the  policy  of  increasing  the  public 
debt,  and  loudly  demanded  a  retrenchment  of  expejidi- 
tures. 


248  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

Although  Gov.  Seward  was  popular  among  the  mass 
of  his  party,  there  was  a  considerable  number  of  whigs, 
possessing  much  influence  in  consequence  of  their 
wealth  and  standing  in  society,  who  thought  the  gov- 
ernor too  radical  in  some  of  his  political  notions  ;  and 
the  under-current  these  individuals  put  in  motion  per- 
sonally against  Mr.  Seward,  interrupted  and  checked 
the  vigorous  action  of  the  whig  party,  even  in  the  choice 
of  members  of  the  legislature. 

The  defection,  or,  as  it  was  called,  treachery  of  Mr. 
Tyler,  wrested  from  the  whig  party  in  the  state  of  New 
York  the  control  of  the  national  patronage.  They  had 
gained  the  battle,  but  the  fruits  of  the  conquest  were 
snatched  from  them  in  the  moment  of  victory.  This 
prostration  of  their  hopes  and  expectations  discouraged 
and  disheartened  many  whigs,  who  lately  had  been  ac- 
tive and  zealous,  and  paralyzed  their  efforts,  while  the 
same  events  induced  their  opponents  to  act  with  re- 
newed vigor  and  energy. 


1842. J  MEMBERS  OF  THE   ASSEMBLY.  249 


CHAPTER  XL 

Levi  S.  Chatfield  chosen  Speaker  of  the  Assembly — Unusual  number  of 
men  of  talents  this  year  elected  Members  of  that  House — Isaac  R.  El- 
wood  chosen  Clerk  of  the  Senate — Gov.  Seward's  Message — Comptrol- 
ler's Report — Dispute  between  the  Governor  and  Senate  on  the  Bill  for 
the  Repeal  of  the  Law  in  relation  to  the  Receivers  of  Insolvent  Banks 
— Caucus  for  nominating  State  Officers — A.  C.  Flagg,  Comptroller,  S. 
Young,  Secretary  of  State,  George  P.  Barker,  Attorney-general,  Thom- 
as Farrington,  Treasurer,  Nathaniel  Jones,  Surveyor-general — Canal 
Commissioners — Debates  in  the  Senate  and  Assembly  on  the  Finances 
— Mr.  Hoffman's  Speech — Mr.  Flagg's  Report — Mr.  Hoffman's  Finan- 
cial Bill  of  1842 — It  passes  the  Assembly — Proceedings  in  the  Senate 
thereon — Mr.  Dickinson's  Substitute,  and  Messrs.  Foster's  and  Faulk- 
ener's  Amendments — The  People's  Resolutions — Indications  of  Dissen- 
sions in  the  Democratic  and  Whig  Parties — Virginia  Controversy  again 
discussed — Bill  for  removing  the  State  Printer — Vetoed  by  the  Governor 
— Proceedings  in  Congress — Mr.  Wright's  Speech  on  the  Loan  Bill — 
His  Speech  on  the  Bill  for  dividing  the  States  into  single  Congressional 
Districts— New  Tariff  Bill— Mr.  Wright's  Speech  on  this  Bill— Demo- 
cratic State  Convention — William  C.  Bouck  nominated  for  Governor — 
He  is  elected — D.  S.  Dickinson  elected  Lieutenant-governor. 

THERE  was  an  unusual  number  of  men  of  talents 
elected  to  the  assembly  at  the  annual  election  in  1841. 
From  the  city  of  New  York,  O'Sullivan  and  Townsend, 
and  Messrs.  M'Clay,  Grout,  Jones,  M'Murray,  &c.,  add- 
ed much  to  the  strength  of  the  representation  from  that 
city.  Horatio  Seymour,  from  Utica ;  John  A.  Dix,  late 
secretary  of  state,  now  United  States  senator,  from  Al- 
bany; Lemuel  Stetson,  from  Clinton  county;  that  learned 
and  able  lawyer,  George  A.  Simmons,  from  Essex  ;  John 
W.  Tamlin,  from  Jefferson :  John  A.  Lott,  from  Kings ; 


250  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

Levi  S.  Chatfield,  from  Otsego  ;  George  R"  Davis,  from 
Rensselaer  ;  the  benevolent  friend  of  popular  education 
and  of  man,  Calvin  T.  Hulburt,  from  St.  Lawrence;  the 
active  and  energetic  Halsey  Rogers  and  John  Cramer, 
from  Saratoga ;  Ziba  A.  Leland,  from  Steuben  ;  Charles 
Humphrey,  former  speaker,  and  now  clerk  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  from  Tompkins ;  and  Michael  Hoffman 
and  Arphaxad  Loomis,  from  the  county  of  Herkimer, 
were  all  men  of  distinguished  ability. 

As  usual,  a  separate  caucus  was  held  by  the  two 
houses  the  evening  preceding  the  meeting  of  the  legis- 
lature, which  was  on  Monday,  the  3d  of  January.  The 
democratic  senators  nominated  Isaac  R.  El  wood,  of 
Rochester,  clerk,  in  place  of  Samuel  G.  Andrews,  then 
the  incumbent.  We  believe  Mr.  Andrews  had  dis- 
charged his  duties  faithfully,  and  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  senate  and  the  public.  The  objections  to  him 
were  purely  political.  The  appointment  of  Mr.  Elwood, 
however,  was  well  received.  He  is  a  man  of  highly 
cultivated  mind,  and  extensive  and  varied  literary  at- 
tainments. 

At  the  assembly  caucus,  Levi  S.  Chatfield  on  the  first 
ballot  received  eighty  votes,  and  was  declared  nomina- 
ted. There  was  some  difficulty  in  selecting  a  candidate 
for  clerk,  but  after  two  or  three  ballotings,  John  O.  Cole 
of  Albany,  formerly  an  energetic  police  justice  of  that 
city,  was  declared  duly  nominated.  The  election  of 
these  gentlemen  was  of  course  made  the  next  day. 

The  election  of  Mr.  Chatfield,  notwithstanding  there 
were  other  democratic  members  of  great  talent  and 
merit,  then  belonging  to  the  assembly,  was  in  our  judg- 
ment an  act  of  appropriate  political  justice.  That  he 
possessed  talents  of  a  high  order  was  admitted  by  all 


1842.]  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  251 

but  what  gave  him  peculiar  claims  was,  he  had  come 
into  the  assembly  two  or  three  years  before,  when  the 
democratic  party  was  in  a  small  minority ;  had  stood  in 
the  front  ranks  of  the  opposition  to  the  whig  majority ;  had 
defended  with  zeal  and  ability  the  views  of  his  political 
friends,  and  had  been  several  times  their  candidate  for 
speaker  when  it  was  known  he  could  not  be  elected.  These 
circumstances  had  frequently  subjected  him  to  severe 
attacks  from  his  political  opponents.  Mr.  Hoffman  was 
probably  the  strongest  man  among  the  democratic  mem- 
bers ;  but  Mr.  H.  was  contending  for  things  rather  than 
names — for  moral  rather  than  official  power.  He  him- 
self was  in  favor  of  Mr.  Chatfield. 

Though  Gov.  Seward  always  writes  and  speaks  with 
ability,  his  message  on  this  occasion  was,  in  our  opinion, 
both  in  style  and  spirit,  superior  to  his  former  commu- 
nications. He  probably  felt  that  he  was  addressing  a 
body  of  men  a  majority  of  whom  were  in  principle  opposed 
to  some  of  his  favorite  doctrines,  and  whose  opposition  to 
his  policy  was  sharpened  by  coming  fresh  from  the  field 
of  a  fierce  contest  at  the  polls  of  the  election. 

After  the  usual  introductory  congratulations  and  re- 
marks on  matters  of  minor  importance,  the  governor  al- 
ludes to  the  Virginia  controversy  in  the  following  deco- 
rous and  conciliatory  manner : 

"  I  lay  before  you  a  law  of  Virginia  calculated  to  em- 
barrass our  commerce.  The  effect  of  the  act  is  post- 
poned until  May  next,  and  the  governor  is  authorized 
further  to  suspend  it  whenever  the  executive  authority 
of  this  state  shall  surrender  three  persons  heretofore  de- 
manded by  the  lieutenant-governor  of  that  common- 
wealth as  fugitives  from  justice,  and  the  legislature  shall 
repeal  the  law  extending  the  trial  by  jury.  I  have  re- 


252  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

spectfully  informed  the  authorities  of  Virginia,  that  my 
convictions  of  the  illegality  of  that  requisition  are  un- 
changed ;  and  that  although  New  York,  from  motives 
of  self-respect  and  devotion  to  the  Union,  will  not  re- 
taliate, nor  even  remonstrate,  yet  she  cannot  consent  to 
remain  a  respondent,  since  Virginia  has  seen  fit  to 
transcend  the  sphere  assigned  her  by  the  federal  consti- 
tution, and  to  pass  an  aggressive  law ;  but  that  this  state 
will  cheerfully  return  to  a  discussion  of  the  subject,  with 
a  sincere  desire  to  arrive  at  a  conclusion  mutually  satis- 
factory and  conducive  to  the  general  harmony,  whenever 
the  effect  of  that  unfortunate  statute  shall  be  removed 
by  the  action  of  our  sister  state,  or  by  an  overruling  de- 
cision of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The 
legislature  will  decide  whether  the  trial  by  jury  shall  be 
relinquished  ;  and  whether  a  state,  which  acknowledges 
no  natural  inequality  of  men,  and  no  political  inequality 
which  may  not  ultimately  be  removed,  shall  wrest  that 
precious  shield  from  those  only  whose  freedom  is  assail- 
ed, not  for  any  wrong-doing  of  their  own,  but  because 
the  greatest  of  all  crimes  was  committed  against  their 
ancestors.  Taught  as  we  have  been  by  the  founders  of 
the  constitution,  and  most  emphatically  by  the  states- 
men of  Virginia,  we  cannot  renounce  the  principle,  that 
all  men  are  born  free  and  equal,  nor  any  of  its  legitimate 
consequences.  But  we  can,  nevertheless,  give  to  Vir- 
ginia, and  to  the  whole  American  family,  pledges  of 
peace,  affection,  and  fidelity  to  the  Union,  by  relying 
upon  legal  redress  alone,  and  by  waiting  the  returning 
magnanimity  of  a  state  whose  early  and  self-sacrificing 
vindication  of  the  rights  of  man  has  entitled  her  to  en- 
during veneration  and  gratitude." 

On  the  subject  of  capital  punishment  the  governor  says: 


1842.]  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  253 

"  Every  philanthropic  mind  will  cling  to  the  hope,  that 
ultimately  the  supremacy  of  the  Jaws  may  be  maintain- 
ed, without  exacting,  in  any  case,  a  forfeiture  of  life. 
Nevertheless,  the  subject  requires  most  cautious  deliber- 
ation. The  substitution  of  imprisonment  for  life  would 
be  signally  unsuccessful,  without  such  a  modification  of 
the  pardoning  power  as  might  prevent  its  being  employ- 
ed except  in  cases  where  it  would  seem  necessary  to 
correct  error." 

The  message  alludes  to  the  case  of  M'Leod  in  a  man- 
ner that  appears  to  us  rather  as  evincive  of  an  inclina- 
tion to  evade  the  expression  of  an  opinion  upon  the  great 
question  of  national  law  involved  in  that  case,  and  to 
speak  in  a  way  least  calculated  to  disturb  popular  preju- 
dices against  encroachment  upon  the  sovereignty  of  the 
state. 

In  speaking  upon  the  school  and  literature  fund,  the 
governor  says : 

"  The  literature  fund,  devoted  to  the  improvement  of 
the  higher  branches  of  learning  in  colleges  and  acade- 
mies, has  a  capital  of  $268,990,  and,  including  what  is 
received  from  the  United  States  deposites,  an  income  of 
847,165.  The  value  of  the  endowments  of  our  colleges 
and  academies  is  $2,175,731.  The  productive  capital 
of  the  common  school  fund  is  $2,036,625,  and  its  whole 
income  is  $261,073.  If  we  should  include  lands  valued 
at  $200,000,  and  so  much  of  the  United  States  deposite 
moneys  as  yield, revenue  to  this  fund,  its  value  would  be 
85,819,959.  There  are  10,886  school  district  libraries, 
containing  630,000  volumes.  The  whole  capital  perma- 
nently invested  for  the  support  of  education,  including 
the  two  funds,  the  endowments  of  colleges,  and  the  value 
of  school  edifices,  is  $10,500,000." 


254  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

He  adds,  with  peculiar  propriety,  that  "there  is  a  hap- 
py contrast  between  this  munificent  foundation  and  a 
resolution  of  the  colonial  assembly,  not  long  before  the 
revolution,  declaring  that  a  report  that  they  intended  to 
levy  by  tax  £500,  to  be  expended  in  the  promotion  of 
learning,  was  groundless,  false,  and  malicious." 

Mr.  Seward  renews  his  recommendation  in  favor  of 
the  distribution  of  the  common-school  moneys  in  the  city 
of  New  York  in  such  a  manner  as  to  allow  foreigners 
and  Catholics  to  participate  in  the  bounty  of  the  state, 
without  a  violation  of  what  they  deem  to  be  their  reli- 
gious duties  to  their  children.  On  that  subject  he  says  : 

"  This  proposition,  to  gather  the  young  from  the  streets 
and  wharves  into  the  nurseries  which  the  state,  solicit- 
ous for  her  security  against  ignorance,  has  prepared  for 
them,  has  sometimes  been  treated  as  a  device  to  appro- 
priate the  school  fund  to  the  endowment  of  seminaries 
for  teaching  languages  and  faiths,  thus  to  perpetuate  the 
prejudices  it  seeks  to  remove  ;  sometimes  as  a  scheme 
for  dividing  that  precious  fund  among  a  hundred  jar- 
ring sects,  and  thus  increasing  the  religious  animosities 
it  strives  to  heal ;  sometimes  as  a  plan  to  subvert  the 
prevailing  religion  and  introduce  one  repugnant  to  the 
consciences  of  our  fello \v-citizens  ;  while,  in  truth,  it 
simply  proposes,  by  enlightening  equally  the  minds  of 
all,  to  enable  them  to  detect  error  wherever  it  may  ex- 
ist, and  to  reduce  uncongenial  masses  into  one  intelli- 
gent, virtuous,  harmonious,  and  happy  people.  Being 
now  relieved  from  all  such  misconceptions,  it  presents 
the  questions,  whether  it  is  wiser  and  more  humane  to 
educate  the  offspring  of  the  poor,  than  to  leave  them  to 
grow  up  in  ignorance  and  vice  ;  whether  juvenile  vice 
is  more  easily  eradicated  by  the  court  of  sessions  than  by 


1842.]  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  255 

common  schools  ;  whether  parents  have  a  right  to  be 
heard  concerning  the  instruction  and  instructors  of  their 
children,  and  tax-payers,  in  relation  to  the  expenditure 
of  public  funds;  whether,  in  a  republican  government, 
it  is  necessary  to  interpose  an  independent  corporation 
between  the  people  and  the  schoolmaster,  and  whether 
.t  is  wise  and  just  to  disfranchise  an  entire  community 
of  all  control  over  public  education,  rather  than  suffer  a 
part  to  be  represented  in  proportion  to  its  numbers  and 
contributions.  Since  such  considerations  are  now  in- 
volved, what  has  hitherto  been  discussed  as  a  question 
of  benevolence  and  universal  education,  has  become  one 
of  equal  civil  rights,  religious  tolerance,  and  liberty  of 
conscience.  We  could  bear  with  us,  in  our  retirement 
from  public  service,  no  recollection  more  worthy  of  being 
cherished  through  life,  than  that  of  having  met  such  a 
question  in  the  generous  and  confiding  spirit  of  our  in- 
stitutions, and  decided  it  upon  the  immutable  principles 
on  which  they  are  based." 

The  governor  informs  the  legislature  that  the  amount 
received  for  canal  tolls  during  the  preceding  year  from 
all  the  canals,  was  $2,034,878,  which  was  very  near 
double  the  amount  received  from  the  same  source  in  the 
year  1831.*  The  net  revenue  from  the  canals,  after 
deducting  all  expenditures  during  the  last  fiscal  year, 
was  $1,551,098. 

With  respect  to  the  public  debt  the  governor 
says: 

"  The  permanent  public  debt,  at  the  close  of  the  last 
fiscal  year,  exclusively  of  temporary  loans,  contingent 
liabilities,  and  the  balance  of  the  Erie  and  Champlain 


*  The  tolls  received  in  1831  amounted  to  no  more  than  $1,223,801 


256  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

Canal  debt,  for  the  payment  of  which  equivalent  funds 
are  set  apart,  is  $15,540,530;  to  which  must  be  added 
temporary  loans,  amounting  to  $1,855,000,  making  the 
aggregate  debt  $17,395,530 ;  and  the  interest  annually 
payable  thereon,  including  also  interest  on  the  stocks 
loaned  to  the  railroad  companies  who  are  in  default,  is 
$919,704.  The  debt  consists  of  stocks  chiefly  redeem- 
able in  1845,  1850,  1855,  and  1860.  The  amount  of 
stocks  issued  to  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal  Com- 
pany, and  railroad  companies,  is  $5,035,700.  You  will, 
of  course,  give  immediate  attention  to  proper  measures 
for  reimbursing  temporary  loans." 

Gov.  Seward  urges  the  continuation  of  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  Erie  Canal,  and  the  completion  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  Genesee  Valley  and  Black  River  canals. 
He  says  : 

"  If,  therefore,  we  would  preserve  the  inestimable  ben- 
efits of  inland  navigation  which  we  now  enjoy,  if  we 
would  save  the  treasury  from  embarrassment,  if  we  de- 
sire the  accomplishment  of  the  other  public  works,  if  we 
would  in  any  degree  extend  our  interior  communica- 
tions, if  we  would  maintain  the  public  faith,  prevent  gen- 
eral distress,  retain  our  commercial  precedence  and  po- 
litical influence,  and  guard  against  the  dismemberment 
of  our  territory,  it  is  necessary  to  complete  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  Erie  Canal  throughout,  and  with  all  con- 
venient diligence." 

With  respect  to  the  Genesee  Valley  and  Black  River 
canals,  he  says  : 

"  The  Genesee  Valley  Canal  was  undertaken  in  1836. 
Its  cost,  then  estimated  at  near  two  millions,  was  sub- 
sequently raised  to  about  five  millions.  The  Black 
River  Canal  was  commenced  at  the  same  time,  upon  an 


1842.]  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  257 

estimate  of  about  one  million,  but  which  afterwards 
advanced  to  two  millions.  Loans  for  these  improve- 
ments, amounting  to  $2,800,000,  were  authorized  pre- 
viously to  1839,  and  like  loans  for  $1,600,000,  since  that 
time.  Although  it  might  be  conceded  that  these  enter- 
prises would  have  been  delayed,  if  their  real  cost  had 
been  correctly  understood,  or  the  subsequent  embarrass- 
ment of  the  country  foreseen ;  yet,  when  the  condition  of 
the  works,  their  destined  connection  with  navigable  wa- 
ters, penetrating  remote  recesses  of  the  country,  and 
their  ultimate  usefulness  are  considered,  together  with 
the  injurious  consequences  which  would  result 'from 
abandoning  such  undertakings,  I  am  sure  that  nothing 
but  an  inflexible  necessity,  not  yet  apparent,  will  induce 
your  consent  to  a  measure  so  widely  injurious." 

We  cannot  suppress  the  remark,  that  those  engineers 
who  estimated  the  expense  of  constructing  the  Black 
River  Canal  at  one  million  of  dollars,  and  that  of  the 
Genesee  Valley  at  two  millions,  (upon  the  faith  of  which 
the  legislature  directed  their  construction) — when,  after 
large  expenditures  had  been  incurred,  it  was  ascertained 
that  the  expense  of  making  the  Black  River  Canal  would 
be  double  the  estimate,  and  that  the  Genesee  Valley 
Canal  would  cost  jive  millions  instead  of  two — must 
have  been  either  grossly  incompetent  or  corrupt ;  and 
in  either  case  they  ought  promptly  to  have  been  dis- 
charged from  the  public  service. 

The  governor  speaks  in  terms  of  approbation  of  the 
New  York  and  Erie  Railroad,  and  thinks  it  may  be 
completed  in  the  year  1843.  He  recommends  the  con- 
struction of  a  railroad  from  the  St.  Lawrence  river  to 
Lake  Champlain,  and  a  central  railway  from  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Albany  to  New  York  ;  and  although  he  con- 
17 


258  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YOBK.  [1842. 

siders  the  question  doubtful,  he  seems  rather  to  incline 
to  the  opinion  that  these  great  channels  of  overland  nar- 
igation,  if  we  may  so  speak,  should  be  constructed  and 
owned  by  the  state.  He  says : 

"  The  estimated  cost  of  all  the  public  works  in  pro- 
gress, including  two-thirds  of  the  expense  of  the  New 
York  and  Erie  Railroad,  such  being  the  proportion  in 
which  the  state  has  contributed  to  that  enterprise,  is 
$36,598,379,  of  which  sum  it  yet  remains  for  the  legis- 
lature to  provide  $17,265,130.  Large  as  this  sum  is, 
there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  surpasses  our  fiscal 
ability.  It  is  true  that  the  state  owes  a  debt,  including 
temporary  loans,  of  seventeen  millions;  but  it  is  not  in 
any  form  a  dead  weight,  like  public  debts  contracted  in 
war,  or  for  improvident  expenditures.  It  has  been  cre- 
ated in  constructing  a  system  of  works,  which  not  only 
is  to  yield  a  return  when  finished,  but  which  is  so  pro- 
ductive in  every  stage,  that  its  profits  furnish  all  the 
means  necessary  for  its  completion,  without  exacting  a 
dollar  from  land,  labor,  or  any  other  resource ;  a  system 
which  leaves  nothing  to  speculation  concerning  its  ade- 
quacy to  pay  the  interest  on  its  cost,  because  it  pays 
interest  in  advance,  nor  concerning  the  reimbursement 
of  the  cost  itself,  because  the  surplus  profits  over  the 
annual  interest  a»e  adequate  to  procure  the  further  sum 
required,  and  would  at  any  time,  when  so  applied,  en- 
sure a  rapid  extinguishment  of  the  principal.  The  debt 
is  large  because  the  enterprise  is  great." 

After  alluding  to  the  immense  resources  of  the  state, 
and  stating  that  its  taxable  property  amounted  to 
8700,000,000,  the  governor  says  : 

"  But  notwithstanding  these  resources,  the  prosecution 
of  the  public  works  is  embarrassed.  It  is,  however,  the 


1842.]  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  259 

fortune  of  enterprise ;  it  is  essential  to  enterprise — it  is 
enterprise  itself,  to  encounter  embarrassments ;  and 
there  is  no  merit  in  success  which  is  obtained  without 
effort  and  involves  no  sacrifice.  The  present  emergency 
will  nevertheless  be  found  to  exact  no  extraordinary 
energy  or  patriotism. 

"  Since  the  works  were  undertaken,  the  rate  of  inter- 
est demanded  upon  loans  to  the  state  has  advanced  from 
five  to  about  seven  per  cent.  Prudence,  under  such 
circumstances,  counsels  moderation ;  yet  the  value  of 
money  has  not  increased  as  much  as  the  prices  of  labor 
and  subsistence  have  fallen,  and  it  would  certainly  be 
the  worst  of  all  economy  to  discontinue  enterprises  so 
important  for  a  reason  so  inadequate,  or  to  sacrifice  in 
delays  and  damages  more  than  the  additional  cost  re- 
sulting from  the  enhanced  rate  of  interest.  While  we 
ought,  therefore,  to  pursue  the  undertakings  cautiously, 
and  even  at  some  apparent  although  unreal  sacrifice,  we 
are,  nevertheless,  required  to  put  forth  every  effort  to 
restore  our  public  stocks  to  their  former  value.  Such 
efforts,  however,  would  prove  unavailing,  if  the  causes 
of  the  evil  were  misunderstood.  We  are  in  competi- 
tion with  other  states  and  countries  in  borrowing  money. 
The  securities  of  other  nations  are  not  depreciated,  while 
those  of  our  sister  states,  whether  they  owe  less  or  more, 
are  reduced,  none  less  than  our  own,  and  some  thirty, 
forty,  fifty,  sixty,  and  seventy,  even  eighty  per  -cent. 
The  federal  government,  which  has  once  paid  absolute- 
ly a  debt  of  $189,000,000,  and  which  now  owes  nothing, 
is  unable,  at  the  same  rate  of  interest  we  offer,  to  obtain 
a  loan  for  three  years,  of  an  amount  equal  to  only  half 
a  year's  revenues.  Is  it  true  then  that  the  depreciation 
of  our  stocks  has  resulted  from  the  greatness  of  our 


260  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1842 

debt,  or  from  the  magnitude  of  our  undertakings,  or 
from  any  fiscal  unsoundness  or  error  ?  On  the  contra- 
ry, it  is  apparent  that  our  stocks  are  depressed  by  some 
general  cause  affecting  all  American  governmental  se- 
curities. Some  of  the  states  have  with  youthful  impru- 
dence embarked,  without  proper  fiscal  systems,  in  great 
enterprises,  which  seemed  to  us,  as  well  as  to  themselves, 
feasible  and  not  disproportionate  to  their  ability.  A  com- 
mercial revulsion  has  overtaken  them  before  their  works 
could  be  completed  and  rendered  productive.  Supplies 
of  capital  have  ceased — the  works  remain  unfinished — 
the  states  fail  to  pay  interest  punctually ;  and  since 
punctuality  is  the  life  of  credit,  their  credit  is  expiring." 

The  governor  urges  upon  the  legislature  the  imperious 
duty  of  preserving  the  credit  of  the  state  unimpaired  and 
unsuspected,  and  concludes  his  remarks  on  financial 
concerns  by  saying  : 

"  I  suggest,  with  a  view  to  this  purpose,  a  rigid  ad- 
herence, under  all  circumstances,  to  the  rule  hitherto 
observed,  that  the  whole  public  debt  shall  not  be  raised 
above  such  an  amount  as  that  its  interest  can  be  paid 
out  of  the  current  surplus  revenues  of  the  canals ;  and 
to  remove  all  questions  concerning  the  fiscal  soundness 
and  moral  integrity  of  the  state,  I  recommend  that  all 
the  future  revenues  from  the  national  domain  shall  be 
pledged  as  a  sinking  fund  to  the  extinguishment  of  the 
principal  of  the  public  debts,  annually  paying,  or  provi- 
ding for  the  payment  of  a  part  of  the  principal,  and  ab- 
sorbing first  the  older  debts.  If  seventeen  millions  of 
dollars  are  yet  required  to  complete  our  public  works, 
the  system  I  have  suggested  would  in  1855  discharge 
the  whole  of  our  present  and  future  indebtedness,  and 
after  that  leave  an  unincumbered  annual  revenue." 


1842.]  MR.  COLLIER'S  REPORT.  261 

In  announcing  that  a  debt  of  thirty-six  millions  of 
dollars  would  upon  his  system  be  paid  off  and  discharged 
in  1855,  without  resorting  to  taxation,  we  presume  the 
governor  must  have  assumed  two  very  material  facts — 
first,  that  money  could  always  be  borrowed  by  the  state 
at  a  rate  not  over  six  per  cent. ;  and,  second,  that  the 
avails  of  the  sales  of  land  by  the  United  "States  would 
from  year  to  year  be  distributed  among  the  several  states. 

We  have  made  more  copious  extracts  from  the  mes- 
sage than  we  should  have  done,  had  not  this  document 
evidently  been  prepared  by  Gov.  Seward  with  great 
care,  as  his  last  message,  (for  he  had  previously  caused 
it  to  be  announced  that  he  should  not  be  a  candidate  for 
re-election,)  and  because  he  was  aware  that  he  was  ad- 
dressing a  body  of  men,'  a  majority  of  whom  came  there 
with  the  avowed  determination  to  oppose  and  overthrow 
the  financial  system  of  him  and  his  political  friends. 
Thus  situated,  he  surely  has  a  right  to  an  attentive  and 
fair  hearing 

The  report  of  the  comptroller,  Mr.  Collier,  bears  date 
ort  the  4th  of  January.  It  commences  by  stating  the  public 
debt  at  $17,91 1,230.66,  and  the  liabilities  for  loans  of  the 
credit  of  the  state  to  incorporated  companies  at  84,235,700. 
The  comptroller  controverts  a  report  made  by  Mr.  Hoff- 
man, at  the  preceding  session,  which  states  the  public 
debt  to  be  more  than  twenty  millions  of  dollars.  The 
comptroller  estimates  the  actual  debt  at  $14,901,060 
only.  The  report  generally  sustains  the  views  of  the 
governor  as  expressed  in  his  message ;  it  gives  an  inter- 
esting history  of  the  practice  of  loaning  the  credit  of 
the  state  to  chartered  companies,  contains  many  statis- 
tical facts,  well  and  luminously  arranged,  and  must  have 
been  prepared  with  great  care  and  labor. 


262  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  session  an  unpleasant  alter- 
cation took  place  between  the  governor  and  senate, 
which  arose  under  the  following  circumstances  : 

In  the  year  1841,  a  law  passed  both  houses  of  the  le- 
gislature, and  was  approved  by  the  executive,  transfer- 
ring the  appointment  of  receivers  of  insolvent  corpo- 
rations from  the  chancellor  to  the  bank  commissioners. 
Early  in  the  present  session,  a  bill  was  introduced  into 
the  senate  for  the  repeal  of  this  law,  which  passed  both 
houses  in  a  day  or  two,  and  was  sent  to  the  governor 
for  his  approval. 

The  governor,  on  the  22d  of  January,  returned  the 
bill  to  the  senate,  with  his  signature,  approving  it,  ac- 
companied with  a  message.  The  message  stated,  in 
substance,  that  the  act  which  was  repealed  by  the  bill 
contained  a  salutary  and  useful  provision  ;  that  it  had 
been  in  operation  too  short  a  time  (only  about  nine 
months)  to  enable  the  public  to  judge  of  its  utility,  and 
that  in  his  judgment  it  ought  not  to  be  repealed.  "  But," 
said  the  governor,  "the  general  responsibilities  of  ma- 
king laws  rest  with  the  legislature,  while  upon  the  exec- 
utive are  devolved  only  the  duties  of  recommending 
measures,  and  of  rejecting,  for  sufficient  causes,  bills 
originated  and  perfected  by  the  representatives  of  the 
people.  Although  the  executive  might  reluctantly  feel 
himself  obliged  to  interpose  objections  in  a  case  where 
a  proposed  law  should  have  hastily  and  inconsiderately 
passed  the  legislature,  or  should  contravene  the  letter  or 
spirit  of  the  constitution,  or  infringe  individual  rights, 
or  impair  the  necessary  efficiency  of  the  executive  ad- 
ministration, or  invade  the  constitutional  or  appropriate 
powers  of  any  department  of  the  government,  or  threat- 
en any  pervading  or  lasting  injury  to  the  public  welfare, 


1842.]        PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE.  263 

or  should  tend  to  produce  inequality  or  injustice,  or 
deeply  compromise  any  recognised  principles  of  repub- 
lican institutions,  yet  the  person  administering  the  gov- 
ernment could  not  interpose  objections  to  less  important 
bills  upon  the  mere  ground  of  a  difference  of  opinion 
concerning  their  expediency,  without  assuming  an  un- 
due share  of  legislative  responsibility. 

"  Applying  these  principles  to  the  present  case,  I  have 
not  thought  it  my  duty  to  embarrass  the  action  of  the 
legislature,  but,  cheerfully  confiding  in  their  superior 
wisdom,  have  approved  and  signed  the  bill,  availing 
myself  of  this  occasion  to  submit  an  explanation,  inas- 
much as  the  proceeding  involves  an  apparent  inconsis- 
tency, which  might  lead  to  misapprehensions  concerning 
my  views  of  the  policy  of  the  measure." 

This  message  was  sent  to  the  senate  on  Saturday. 
On  Monday  morning,  Mr.  Foster  moved  to  strike  the 
message  from  the  minutes,  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
the  duty  of  the  governor,  if  he  approved  of  a  bill,  to 
sign  it ;  "if not,  he  should  return  it  with  his  objections." 
The  governpr,  Mr.  Foster  argued,  had  no  right  to  ap- 
prove of  a  bill,  and  at  the  same  time  to  cause  to  be  en- 
tered on  the  minutes  his  objections  to  it,  or  his  apology 
for  signing  it.  "  He  has  no  more  right,"  said  Mr.  Fos- 
ter, "  to  spread  upon  the  journal  the  reasons  which  may 
have  influenced  him  in  signing  it,  than  senators  have  to 
enter  their  speeches*  pro  and  con,  upon  the  same  record. 
Nay,  not  so  much  right,  for  it  was  the  senate's  journal, 
not  the  governor's." 

The  motion  of  Mr.  Foster  was  discussed  for  some 
time  in  the  senate,  with  apparent  good  temper,  and  final- 
ly, after  it  had  lain  over  one  day,  was  passed  by  a  party 
vote  of  fourteen  to  thirteen. 


'264  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YOBK.  [l842. 

On  the  26th  of  January,  the  governor  sent  another 
message  to  the  senate,  in  which,  after  adverting  to  the 
order  of  that  house  to  strike  his  communication  of  the 
22d  from  its  journal,  he  says  : 

"  I  do  therefore,  with  extreme  regret  that  such  a  pro- 
ceeding has  become  necessary,  and  with  the  most  re- 
spectful deference,  inform  the  senate,  that  the  suppression 
of  the  communication  referred  to  is  regarded  by  me  as 
a  dangerous  invasion  of  the  rights  of  the  executive  de- 
partment, unwarranted  by  any  precedent  in  the  history 
of  the  government,  and  without  any  justification  in  the 
circumstances  of  the  transaction." 

This  message  produced  considerable  excitement  in 
the  senate,  and  elicited  a  warm  and  somewhat  acrimo- 
nious debate. 

Mr.  Strong,  from  Rensselaer,  offered  a  resolution,  that 
the  message  be  returned  to  the  governor,  which  was 
adopted  by  a  party  vote — fifteen  in  the  affirmative,  and 
eleven  in  the  negative. 

The  registry  law  was  repealed  among  the  first  acts  of 
this  legislature. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  Mr.  Townsend's  bill  for  the 
creation  of  election  districts  was  calculated  to  accom- 
plish, and  has  actually  accomplished,  all  the  substantial 
^ood  effects  that  it  was  anticipated  would  be  gained  by 
the  law  which  required  the  names  of  the  legal  voters  to 
be  registered  before  the  election. 

On  the  31st  January,  GIDEON  HAWLEY,  of  Albany, 
who  had  long  been  secretary  of  the  regents  of  the  uni- 
versity, and  was  the  first  superintendent  of  common 
schools,  of  whom  we  have  spoken  in  a  preceding  vol- 
ume, was  elected  a  regent  of  the  university. 

On  the  evening  of  the  4th  day  of  February  the  demo- 


1842.J  LEGISLATIVE    CAUCUS.  265 

cratic  members  of  the  legislature  assembled  in  caucus  to 
nominate  state  officers.  There  were  107  members  pres- 
ent ;  and  on  balloting  for  comptroller,  A.  C.  Flagg  had 
105  votes,  and  was,  of  course,  declared  duly  nomi- 
nated. 

Notwithstanding  this  strong  vote  in  his  favor,  it  is  a 
fact,  that  some  portion  of  the  democratic  party  did  not 
desire  that  he  should  be  elected  comptroller.  Although 
no  one,  so  far  as  we  know,  doubted  his  capacity  or  in- 
tegrity, an  impression  did  prevail  that  he  was  too  strin- 
gent in  his  notions  in  relation  to  the  expenditures  on  the 
credit  of  the  state  for  internal  improvements,  of  which, 
and  of  Mr.  Flagg,  we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak 
more  fully  hereafter ;  in  the  mean  time  remarking,  that 
the  same  impressions  which  on  this  occasion  produced 
any  feeling  against  Mr.  Flagg's  appointment  as  comp- 
troller, was,  as  we  believe,  the  germ  out  of  which  has 
grown  the  present  schism  in  the  democratic  party.  At 
this  time,  however,  the  current  which  from  all  quarters 
set  in  for  the  reappointment  of  Mr.  Flagg  was  so  over- 
whelming, that  no  opposition  was  openly  made  to  his 
nomination. 

On  the  first  ballot  for  secretary  of  state,  Samuel  Young 
received  49  votes,  Samuel  W.  Jones,  23,  Ebenezer 
Meeck,  19,  and  John  B.  Skinner,  15.  On  the  third  bal- 
lot Col.  Young  received  58  votes,  and  was  declared 
nominated.  It  may  be  proper  to  state  that  this  nomina- 
tion was  entirely  unsolicited  by  Mr.  Young.  When  it 
was  intimated  to  him  that  his  friends  desired  that  he 
should  be  secretary  of  state,  he  peremptorily  refused  to 
accept  the  office.  Judge  Jewett  was  then  applied  to, 
but  he  also  declined,  and  thereupon  an  old  friend  of  Col. 
Young,  then  a  member  of  the  assembly  from  Saratoga, 


266  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

Mr.  H.  Rogers,  called  on  Mr.  Young  and  persuaded 
him,  though  apparently  against  his  own  inclination  and 
judgment,  not  to  decline. 

There  were  several  candidates  for  the  office  of  attor- 
ney-general. George  P.  Barker,  of  Buffalo,  Samuel 
Beardsley,  now  chief-justice  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
Robert  H.  Morris,  of  New  York,  F.  G.  Jewett,  now 
a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  Amasa  J.  Parker,  now 
a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  John  B.  Skinner,  of 
Genesee,  were  respectively  voted  for,  but  the  conven- 
tion finally  put  in  nomination  Mr.  Barker,  of  Erie  coun- 
ty. The  appointment  was  a  good  one,  and  well  re- 
ceived. 

We  hope,  however,  we  may  be  excused  for  mention- 
ing in  this  place,  that  many  years  ago  we  knew  John  B. 
Skinner  as  a  worthy  and  useful  member  of  the  legisla- 
ture. He  has,  we  believe,  been  offered  several  lucra- 
tive and  honorable  public  employments,  and  among  oth- 
ers that  of  the  office  of  circuit  judge  of  the  eighth  circuit, 
which  he  declined.  His  modesty  or  disinclination  for 
political  life  has  heretofore  deprived  the  public  of  ser- 
vices which  we  do  not  doubt  would  have  been  greatly 
beneficial  to  them. 

THOMAS  FARRINGTON  received  92  votes  against  13 
scattering  ones  for  the  office  of  state  treasurer.  It  is 
not  remarkable  that  his  nomination  should  have  been  so 
unanimous,  for  we  are  not  aware  that  he  has  a  single 
personal  enemy  in  the  state. 

Nathaniel  Jones,  of  Orange  county,  was  nominated 
surveyor-general.  The  candidates  for  adjutant-general 
were  Henry  Storms  and  Jonathan  D.  Stevenson,  whom 
we  have  spoken  of  in  our  account  of  the  Glentworth 
frauds  ;  but  Mr.  Storms  received  54  votes,  and  Mr.  Ste- 


1842.]  LEGISLATIVE  CAUCUS.  267 

venson  50  ;  whereupon  Mr.  Storms  was  declared  to  be 
the  candidate. 

The  nomination  of  these,  officers  seems  to  have  con- 
sumed the  whole  of  the  evening,  for,  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Chatfield,  the  caucus  adjourned  till  the  next  evening,  when 
after  several  ballotings,  and,  we  presume,  considerable 
electioneering,  Jonas  Earl,  of  Onondaga  county,  James 
Hooker,  of  Dutchess,  Daniel  P.  Bissell,  of  Livingston, 
George  W.  Little,  of  Otsego,  Benjamin  Enos,  of  Madi- 
son, and  Stephen  Clark,  were  nominated  canal  com- 
missioners. Mr.  Earl  had  long  served  in  that  capa- 
city ;  the  remaining  five  were  new  men.  All  these 
nominations  were  confirmed  by  the  legislature.  Thus 
the  whole  power  of  the  state,  \\  ith  the  exception  of  that 
which  was  vested  by  the  constitution  in  the  governor, 
was  now  transferred  from  the  whig  to  the  democratic 
party. 

In  the  senate  there  were  17  democrats  and  15  whigs. 
The  majority,  unwilling  to  leave  in  the  power  of  Lieu- 
tenant-governor Bradish  the  selection  and  appointment 
of  committees,  resolved  that  the  committees  should  be 
appointed  by  ballot.  •*" 

The  great  question,  independent  of  mere  party  meas- 
ures, which  engaged  the  attention  of  the  legislature,  was 
that  in  relation  to  the  prosecution  of  the  public  works 
according  to  the  act  of  1838,  and  the  financial  condition 
of  the  state.  The  incipient  labor  in  order  to  produce 
action  on  this  important  subject  was  cast  on  the  com- 
mittees on  finance  and  canals  in  the  senate,  and  that  of 
ways  and  means  in  the  assembly.  The  senate's  com- 
mittee on  finance  consisted  of  A.  C.  Paige,  Hawkins, 
and  Bockee,  and  that  on  canals  of  Denniston,  Rhoades, 
and  Varian.  In  the  assembly  the  committee  of  ways  and 


208  POLITICAL  HISTOKY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

means  was  comprised  of  Hoffman,  Lawrence,  Davis, 
Juliand,  and  Smith. 

To  whatever  cause  the  financial  embarrassment  may 
be  ascribed,  certain  it  is  that  the  condition  of  the  state 
was  such  as  to  alarm  cool  and  calculating  citizens.  Du- 
ring the  greater  part  of  the  year  1841,  it  had  been  found 
impossible  to  negotiate  permanent  loans  without  a  sacri- 
fice the  most  ruinous.  Six  per  cent,  stocks  had  fallen 
to  20  per  cent,  below  par,  and  it  was  doubtful  whether 
they  would  not  fall  even  below  that  price.  Large  sums 
were  due  and  in  arrear  to  contractors,  some  of  whom 
were  obliged,  in  order  to  pay  their  laborers,  to  borrow 
of  the  banks  on  their  own  credits.  Timid  and  cautious 
capitalists  became  alarmed,  and  some  of  them  refused 
to  loan  money  to  the  state  on  any  terms.  In  this  condi- 
tion of  things  the  state  officers,  in  order  to  prevent  a 
suspension  of  the  public  works,  and  a  total  wreck  of  the 
credit  of  the  state,  were  obliged  to  enter  the  money- 
market  and  raise  money  on  short  loans,  payable  in  nine 
and  twelve  months',  &c.  Like  the  merchant  who, 
hard  pressed,  borrows  money  from  day  to  day  to 
meet  the  payment  of  his  notas,  and  who  is  sometimes 
obliged  to  borrow  of  A.  to-day  to  repay  money  which 
he  borrowed  of  B.  yesterday.  To  a  practice  something 
like  this,  called  "  shinning,"  by  the  merchants,  the 
state  officers  were  obliged  to  resort  for  the  purpose  of 
discharging  the  pecuniary  obligations  of  the  state.  In 
this  way,  and  on  these  conditions,  about  $1,000,000  had 
been  raised.  These  loans  were  called  "  temporary 
loans." 

We  have  before  us  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  of  high 
character  for  veracity  and  intelligence,  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Albany,  in  which,  among  other  things,  he  states  : 


1842.]       COL.  YOUNG  AND  MR.  HOFFMAN.         269 

"After  the  election  of  1841,  and  before  the  1st  of  Janu- 
ary, 1842,  Col.  Young  and  myself  called  on  Mr.  Hoff- 
man, then  in  Albany,  and  the  question  of  what  was  to 
be  done  was  discussed  between  us.  The  colonel  was 
of  opinion  that  the  evil  was  so  far  advanced,  that  al- 
though it  might  be  postponed  by  legislation,  it  could 
not  be  cured  ;  that  the  moment  the  credit  of  the  state 
was  restored  so  as  to  be  marketable,  the  influences  that 
had  destroyed  would  again  rally  and  again  destroy  it ; 
that  for  this  reason  the  true  course  was  to  let  our  credit 
continue  to  sink  until  the  close  of  the  session,  and  then 
call  a  convention  to  dispose  of  the  whole  matter.  Mr. 
Hoffman  admitted  a  convention  might  ultimately  be  ne- 
cessary, but  was  disposed  to  try  what  legislation  could 
do.  I  think  he  had  in  this  course  the  approbation  of 
Mr.  Flagg." 

Col.  Young  has  been  charged  with  advocating  the 
repudiation  of  the  public  debt.  This  charge  is  untrue. 
He  was  of  opinion  that  a  legislative  remedy  would  afford 
only  a  transient  relief,  while  a  constitutional  provision 
would  be  permanent.  Perhaps,  like  Mr.  Pym,  he  thought 
that  "  things  must  be  worse  before  they  could  be  made 
better."* 

When  the  legislature  met,  Mr.  Hoffman,  in  a  speech 
which  occupied  a  considerable  part  of  the  14th  and  15th 
days  of  January,  attacked  the  governor's  message  with 
great  severity.  He  disputed  some  of  his  facts,  and  con- 
demned many  of  his  conclusions.  He  deprecated  the 
increase  of  the  state  debt,  and  concluded  his  speech  by 
saying,— 


*  So  that  extraordinary  man   told  Lord  Clarendon,  a  little  before  the 
revolution  which  took  place  in  England  during  the  seventeenth  century. 


270  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

"  You  may  follow  in  the  course  of  other  states  and 
other  institutions — offer  seven,  seven  and  a  half — go  to 
eight — continue  the  process  until,  like  Indiana,  Illinois, 
and  Michigan,  your  stocks  are  sold  at  forty  or  fifty  cents 
on  the  dollar.  But  sooner  or  later  the  hour  is  approach- 
ing when  you  must  stop  in  this  profligate  course,  as  we 
have  already  stopped  our  public  works.  If  the  two 
houses  shall  be  equal  to  their  duty  on  this  trying  occa- 
sion, let  no  man  tremble  for  the  honor  and  character  of 
the  state.  It  can  be  preserved — it  should  be.  Can  any 
man,  native  or  foreign,  hesitate  between  stopping  these 
expenditures,  and  going  on  at  the  expense  of  credit, 
honor,  and  character  ?  Lives  there  any  thing  so  base 
on  earth,  that  to  work  itself  out  of  difficulty,  would 
bring  this  state  where  Indiana  and  Illinois  are  ?  where 
the  Bank  of  the  United  States  is  ?  once  deemed  to  be 
beyond  the  reach  of  dishonor  and  bankruptcy — where 
Michigan  is  ?  where  deficit  has  put  Maryland,  an  Atlan- 
tic state  ?  Will  any  man  say  he  would  bring  the  state 
to  this  position,  rather  than  take  the  safe  course  which 
he  knows  will  preserve  our  honor  and  credit,  without 
which  every  thing  else  is  valueless  ?  If  we  will  only 
stand  by  our  credit — cease  our  expenditures — pay  as  we 
go — we  shall  overcome  this  storm,  stand  erect,  and  in 
the  markets  of  Europe  our  merchants  will  be  the  mer- 
chants of  the  republic,  our  banks  the  banks  of  the  re- 
public, our  reputation,  in  a  word,  like  that  of  the  people 
of  Holland.  But  if,  seeking  popularity  for  an  hour, 
dreading  the  influence  of  this  and  that  locality,  we  go 
on,  winking  there  at  a  railroad,  and  here  at  an  extension, 
the  credit  of  the  state  in  peril,  and  itself  on  the  verge  of 
bankruptcy — when  calamity  comes  upon  us,  and  we  call 
upon  the  mountains  to  cover  us,  the  earth  itself  would 


1842.]  MR.  FRANKLIN'S  RESOLUTION.  271 

spurn  us — the  ashes  of  the  dead  on  which  we  stand 
would  be  dishonored.  The  damned  would  mock  us  and 
drive  us  from  their  society.  No  language  of  reproba- 
tion can  express  the  deep  indignation  that  men  must  feel 
when  they  see  their  country  urged — urged — urged  to 
the  fatal  verge  of  ruin." 

The  same  subject  came  before  the  senate  on  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  offered  by  Mr.  Franklin  : 

"  Whereas,  it  is  equally  the  duty  of  states  as  of  indi- 
viduals, to  maintain  inviolate  their  faith  and  credit,  and 
upon  no  occasion  to  repudiate  or  set  at  naught  a  just 
and  legal  contract,  but  to  uphold  and  maintain,  by  every 
means  in  their  power,  that  degree  of  honesty  and  integ- 
rity in  reference  to  their  pecuniary  obligations  which 
will  enable  them  at  all  times  to  command  the  confi- 
dence of  those  to  whom  they  may  be  now  and  hereafter 
indebted  : 

"  And  whereas,  in  consequence  of  the  excitement  and 
alarm  which  now  so  generally  prevails  in  reference  to 
the  plighted  faith  of  some  of  our  states,  in  consequence 
of  the  action  of  their  legislatures  upon  the  loans  which 
they  have  created,  it  is  right  and  proper  that  an  expres- 
sion should  be  had  in  relation  to  the  obligations  which 
have  been  entered  into  by  this  state  :  Therefore, 

"  Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That  we  hold 
the  pecuniary  obligations  of  the  state  of  New  York  of  so 
sacred  and  binding  a  character,  that  we  will,  by  every 
means  in  our  power,  maintain  and  uphold  them,  and  un- 
der no  circumstances  suffer  or  permit  the  confidence 
which  has  been  reposed  in  our  plighted  faith  to  be  in  the 
least  degree  injured  or  impaired  by  our  action  ;  but  will 
hold  ourselves  responsible,  at  all  times,  and  under  all 
circumstances,  to  carry  out  and  maintain  the  legal  obli- 


272  POLITICAL,  HISTORY  OF  NBVV   YORK.  [1842. 

gallons  which  we  have  contracted,  and  faithfully  to 
redeem  the  loans  which  have  been  made  upon  the  faith 
and  credit  of  our  state." 

To  this  resolution  Mr.  Rhoades  proposed  to  add  the 
following  : 

"  Resolved,  That  we  regard  the  doctrine  of  repudia- 
tion of  state  debts,  whether  emanating  from  the  legisla- 
ture, or  from  individuals  of  any  state,  as  alarming  in  its 
tendency,  at  war  with  the  principles  of  natural  justice, 
destructive  of  public  morals,  and  subversive  of  those 
principles  of  honest  integrity  and  good  faith,  without 
which  we  cannot  maintain  national  or  individual  pros- 
perity." 

For  these  resolutions  and  preamble,  Mr.  Sherwood 
proposed  the  following  substitute : 

"  Strike  out  all  after  the  word  '  whereas'  in  the  first 
line,  and  insert,  '  our  present  system  of  finance  has  con- 
tributed to  the  general  excitement  and  alarm  whlfch  so 
extensively  prevail  in  consequence  of  the  excessive 
issues  of  stocks  by  the  several  states : 

" '  And  whereas  such  system,  if  further  continued, 
would  be  ruinous  in  its  consequences,  and  subversive 
of  the  faith  and  credit  of  our  state,  therefore, 

"  '  Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That  we  hold 
it  among  our  first  duties  to  provide  for  the  liquidation 
and  payment  of  our  present  debt,  as  soon  as  practica- 
ble, and  in  no  case  whatever  (except  for  the  purpose  of 
suppressing  insurrection,  repelling  invasion,  or  defend- 
ing the  state  in  war)  to  create  a  further  debt,  unless  we, 
at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  same  bill,  provide  for  its 
ultimate  and  speedy  repayment.'  " 

The  debate  which  ensued  took  a  wide  range.  The 
past  financial  policy  of  the  state  was  reviewed,  and  the 


1842.]          DEBATE  IN  THE  SENATE.  273 

course  which  in  the  present  emergency  ought  to  be  pur- 
sued was  discussed. 

The  democratic  members  who  took  part  in  the  debate 
indicated  their  preference  for  the  system  which  was  ul- 
timately adopted  by  the  celebrated  financial  statute  of 
1842,  which  was  afterwards  enacted.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  whigs  contended  that  it  would  be  unwise  to 
adopt  restrictions  ;  that  the  completion  of  the  projected 
public  works  ought  to  be  prosecuted  without  regard  to 
the  increase  of  state  indebtedness,  whenever  money 
could  be  borrowed  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent. 

On  the  whig  side,  Dickinson,  Franklin,  Rhoades, 
Root,  and  Hard  delivered  elaborate  and  able  speeches. 
The  latter  gentleman,  Mr.  Hard,  was  a  new  member 
from  the  eighth  district.  He  had  been  a  member  of 
congress,  and,  by  his  talents  and  attention  to  business, 
had  acquired  a  respectable  standing  and  character  in 
that  body.  His  experience,  abilities,  prudence,  and  in- 
tegrity of  character,  soon  caused  him  to  be  regarded  as 
one  of  the  most  prominent  whig  leaders  in  the  senate. 
On  the  other  side,  Sherwood,  Paige,  Hunter,  Dennison, 
and  Ruger,  supported  Mr.  Sherwood's  substitute.  It 
is  said  the  speech  of  Mr.  Sherwood  was  able,  and  did 
him  much  credit.  We  have  read  only  the  speech  of 
Mr.  Dennison,  which  was  reported  at  full  length.  That 
speech  contains  an  extended  review  of  the  financial  op- 
erations of  the  state,  evinces  that  Mr.  D.  possessed  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  his  subject,  and  is  marked  with 
distinguished  ability. 

Mr.  Flagg  was  appointed  comptroller  on  the  7th  of 

February,   and  on   the  15th   of  that  month  he  made  a 

communication  to  the  assembly,  which   presented  his 

views  of  the  condition  of  the  treasury,  and  the  future 

18 


'274  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

course  which  in  his  judgment  ought  to  be  pursued.  In 
this  communication  he  boldly  laid  bare  the  financial  con- 
dition of  the  state  :  he  adverted  to  the  rapid  decline  of 
the  public  credit,  and  if  he  did  not  demonstrate  that  the 
ship  of  state  was  aground,  he  proved  that  she  was  on 
the  point  of  foundering.  He  commenced  by  stating  that 
the  sum  which  the  general  fund  was  required  to  pay 
during  that  year  amounted  to  $797,829.40.  This  sum 
included  $343,436.43  which  had  been  borrowed  of  the 
safety-bank  fund,  but  which,  in  consequence  of  the  re- 
cent bank  failures,  the  general  fund  would  be  called  on 
to  repay. 

He  further  stated,  that  "  money  has  been  borrowed 
during  the  past  year  from  sundry  banks  and  other  cor- 
porations, and  made  payable  in  the  month  of  March,  to 
the  amount  of  $1,455,000.  Of  this  large  amount,  the 
sum  of  $1,205,000  is  due  on  the  first  day  of  the  ensuing 
month.  When  this  money  was  borrowed,  no  provision 
whatever  was  made  for  its  payment,  and  the  present 
commissioners  have  been  under  the  necessity  of  asking 
for  an  extension  of  the  sums  due  on  the  1st  of  March." 
These  moneys  were  denominated  "  temporary  loans." 

Mr.  Flagg  proceeds  to  state  that  from  the  report  of 
the  late  comptroller  there  was  a  deficiency  in  the  means 
provided  to  put  the  canals  in  repair  for  the  ensuing 
spring,  and  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  public  debt  on  the 
1st  of  April,  of  $396,837.20,  and  that  this  sum  might  be 
increased  in  consequence  of  injuries  to  the  canals  by 
floods. 

"  This  statement,"  he  says,  "  shows  that  the  amount 
required  within  the  next  forty-five  days,  to  open  the  ca- 
nals and  pay  interest  on  the  direct  debt  of  the  state, 
cannot  be  less  than  $400,000. 


1842.]  MR.  FLAGG'S  VIEWS.  275 

"  To  this  must  be  added  the  following  sums,  viz  : 
"  Interest  on  temporary  loans  in  March  .    .     32,698  37 
"  Principal  of  the  loans  standing  in  the  name 
of  the  N.  Y.  State  Bank,  payable  16th 
March,  200,000  00 


"  Total  sum  to  be  raised  before  the  1st  April,  8632,698  37 

"  How,"  continues  Mr.  Flagg,  "  is  this  money  to  be 
raised  ?  In  relation  to  long  loans,  the  commissioners  of 
the  canal  fund  went  to  the  bottom  of  the  loan-bag  a  year 
ago,  and  they  have  carried  to  exhaustion  the  questiona- 
ble expedient  of  temporary  loans  from  banks." 

He  states  the  increase  of  the  state  debt  from  1838  to 
February,  1842,  to  be  816,229,141.68.  The  comptrol- 
ler adds : 

"  It  may  be  said  that  the  European  market  is  closed 
against  our  stocks,  and  that  the  stocks  of  the  states  gen- 
erally, are  much  more  depressed  than  our  own  ;  yet 
Massachusetts  stock  has  measurably  maintained  its 
standing,  as  ours  did  in  1837.  It  is  not  possible  to  up- 
hold the  character  of  state  stock,  so  long  as  it  is  issued 
to  such  excess  to  pay  contractors,  and  is  loaned  to  in- 
solvent banks  and  needy  railroads.  Forced  upon  an 
overburdened  market  through  such  channel?,  the  credit 
of  New  York  is  measured,  not  by  its  own  vast  resources 
and  ample  revenue  of  two  millions  of  dollars,  but  is 
brought  down  to  the  urgent  necessities  of  a  needy  indi- 
vidual, or  of  a  corporation  on  the  brink  of  dissolution. 
In  this  way  only  could  the  six  per  cent,  stocks  of  this 
state  be  reduced  to  a  discount  of  twenty-two  or  twenty- 
five  per  cent." 

He  recommends  a  retrenchment  of  expenditures,  and 


276  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

a  direct  tax  of  one  mill  on  a  dollar,  and  concludes  by 
saying : 

"  Sound  action  at  the  present  crisis  is  of  inconceivable 
importance  to  the  future  welfare,  as  well  as  to  the  im- 
mediate business  -interests,  of  the  people  of  this  state  ; 
and  more  or  less,  from  the  peculiar  condition  of  things, 
to  the  whole  country.  At  such  a  time,  local  interests, 
and  every  consideration  merely  personal,  must  yield,  for 
the  time  being,  to  the  paramount  welfare  of  the  whole. 

"  Whatever  differences  of  opinion  may  prevail  on 
other  subjects,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  resort  may  not  be 
had  to  any  of  the  wretched  expedients  which  have 
proved  so  disastrous  to  some  of  the  states  of  this  Union  ; 
but  that  we  may  look  our  difficulties  full  in  the  face,  and 
adopt  such  sound  measures  as  are  necessary  to  restore 
the  credit  of  the  state,  and  protect  our  free  institutions 
from  dishonor." 

On  the  7th  of  March,  Mr.  Hoffman,  from  the  com- 
mittee of  ways  and  means,  made  an  elaborate  report,  in 
which  he  presented  views  of  the  financial  affairs  of  the 
state  similar  to  those  of  Mr.  Flagg.  The  committee,  in 
conclusion,  say  : 

"  1.  The  expenditures  of  the  state  must  cease.  The 
present  '  pressing  engagements'  for  the  general  fund,  and 
for  the  canals  in  1842,  and  for  the  canal  stock  debt  to  be 
provided  for  before  or  in  1845,  after  applying  all  present 
means  on  hand  and  available,  and  all  prospective  surplus 
of  canal  revenue  to  and  including  1845,  will,  as  we  have 
seen,  leave  $4,123,329.90  to  be  extended  beyond  1845 
by  the  credit  of  the  state.  Provision  too  must  be  made 
to  supply  any  deficiency  in  the  general  fund  revenue. 
Until  after  1845,  therefore,  there  will  be  no  surplus  of 
canal  tolls  to  be  employed  as  a  fund  or  means  to  pay 


1842.]  MR.  HOFFMAN'S  REPORT.  277 

interest  on  new  canal  loans.  These  tolls  will  be  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  provide  for  the  liabilities  above 
specified.  New  loans  for  further  expenditure  cannot 
therefore  be  made,  except  on  terms  at  once  disgraceful 
and  ruinous  to  the  credit  of  the  state.  The  impeach- 
ment of  that  credit  by  such  new  loans  for  new  expen- 
ditures, would  prevent  the  state  from  negotiating  loans 
for  existing  demands,  as  above  stated,  and  to  meet  which 
we  have  no  means  present  or  prospective  in  tolls. 

"  2.  A  tax  of  one  mill  on  the  dollar,  or  one  dollar  on 
every  thousand  of  the  assessed  value  of  all  taxable  prop- 
erty, should  be  imposed  and  collected  for  each  of  the 
years  1843,  1844,  1845,  and  1846.  The  assessed  value 
of  the  real  and  personal  property  of  the  state,  according 
to  the  comptroller's  report,  page  80,  is  $665,299,530,  and 
the  tax  thus  levied  would  produce  a  revenue  of  about 
$600,000  annually.  The  tax  assessed  in  1842,  and  col- 
lected in  1843,  should  be  paid  into  the  treasury  in  aid  of 
the  general  fund,  as  should  also  one-half  of  the  revenue 
from  the  tax  collected  in  each  of  the  years  1844,  1845, 
and  1846.  It  would  probably  bring  to  the  general  fund 
$1,500,000.  It  would  be  a  certain  resource  for  the  pay- 
ment of  temporary  loans,  for  the  treasury,  and  thus  en- 
able the  state  to  replenish  the  bank  safety-fund,  the  other 
special  funds,  and  especially  to  restore  the  fund  set  apart 
to  pay  the  Erie  and  Champlain  canal  debt,  8239,425.16, 
which  the  state  has  consumed  of  the  capital  of  that  fund 
for  current  expenses.  It  would,  to  some  extent,  provide 
the  treasury  with  means  to  meet  the  probable  charge  of 
railroad  interest. 

"  The  other  half  of  the  above  tax  to  be  collected  in 
the  years  1844,  1845,  and  1846,  should  be  paid  over  to 
the  commissioners  of  the  canal  fund  to  aid  that  fund. 


278  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

It  would  produce  about  $900,000,  which,  added  to  the 
available  means  on  hand,  Feb.  8, 1842,  for  current  canai 
expenses,  $76,097.80,  would  make  $976,097.80.  This 
would  furnish  the  entire  means  of  repaying  loans  to 
meet  the  pressing  demands  on  the  canal  fund,  to  pay  in- 
terest in  March  and  April,  to  pay  for  the  repairs  in  prog- 
ress on  the  Chemung  Canal,  and  the  expenses  of  repairs, 
superintendents,  and  collectors  on  the  canals,  until  June 
next,  $681,480.32,  and  leave  applicable  to  other  loans  for 
other  pressing  demands  of  the  canal  fund,  $294,617.28. 

"  3.  The  funds  subject  to  the  legal  control  of  the  state 
should  be  collected,  and  as  far  as  safe  and  proper  should 
be  invested  in  such  loans  as  the  legislature  shall  au- 
thorize, to  meet  the  pressing  demands  of  the  canals  for 
1842." 

In  conformity  with  these  principles,  the  committee 
brought  in  the  celebrated  bill  entitled,  "  An  act  to  pro- 
vide for  paying  the  debt  and  preserving  the  credit  of  the 
state." 

The  bill  did  not  linger  long  in  the  assembly.  It  was 
opposed  with  much  zeal,  and  of  course  with  distinguish- 
ed ability,  by  Mr.  Simmons  of  Essex,  and  some  others 
belonging  to  the  same  party.  Mr.  Humphrey,  of  Tomp- 
kins,  expressed  his  apprehensions  that  the  suspension  of 
the  public  works  would  have  a  disastrous  effect  on 
Tompkins  and  the  adjoining  counties  :  he  deeply  regret- 
ted that  the  passage  of  such  a  bill  had  become  necessary, 
and  he  therefore  yielded  his  assent  to  it  with  great  re- 
luctance.* The  vote  on  the  final  passage  of  the  bill 


*  While  the  bill  was  in  the  assembly,  Governor  Bouck  visited  Albany. 
When  there  he  expressed  his   opposition  to  the  suspension  of  the  public 
He  suggested  the  plan  of  sending  a  mission  to  Holland  to  borrow 


1842.]  MR.  DICKINSON'S  SUBSTITUTE.  279 

was  taken  on  the  19th  of  March,  50  members  voting  in 
the  affirmative,  and  27  in  the  negative.  Those  who 
voted  in  the  negative  were  nearly,  if  not  quite  all, 
whigs. 

When  the  bill  came  into  the  senate,  Mr.  Dickinson 
offered,  not,  as  he  stated,  "  as  the  embodiment  of  the 
views  of  the  minority,"  but  as  his  own  "  individual  prop- 
osition," for  which  no  political  party  was  responsible, 
a  bill  containing  in  substance  the  following  provisions, 
as  a  substitute  for  the  bill  from  the  house  : 

"Sec.  1.  Imposes  an  annual  tax  of  one  per  cent,  on 
the  capital  stock  of  all  banks,  banking  associations,  in- 
surance and  trust  companies,  (except  mutual  insurance 
companies,)  and  exempts  such  corporations  arid  associa- 
tions from  all  other  taxes,  except  the  contribution  to  the 
bank  fund. " 

"  Sec.  2.  Act  to  continue  in  force  for  three  years  from 
the  first  of  July  next. 

"  Sec.  3.  The  share  of  this  state  in  the  proceeds  of  the 
public  lands,  to  be  received  from  the  United  States 
treasury,  and  pledged  to  the  payment  of  the  stock  debt 
of  this  state. 

"  Sec.  4.  The  comptroller  to  issue  bonds,  redeemable 
in  not  less  than  20  years,  bearing  interest  not  exceeding 
seven  per  cent.,  to  the  following  amount,  and  the  bonds 
to  be  disposed  of  on  the  best  terms  that  can  be  obtained. 
For  temporary  loans,  $1,544,000  ;  for  the  Chemung  Ca- 
nal, $150,000  ;  for  opening  canals,  &c.,  $200,000 ;  for 


money,  and  for  a  time  seemed  anxious  that  the  bill  should  be  abandoned, 
and  that  his  scheme  should  be   adopted  ;  but  upon  the  remonstrance  of 
Mr.  Seymour  of  Utica,  and  perhaps  others  of  his  friends,  he  reluctantly, 
and  against  his  judgment,  discontinued  his  opposition. 
I 


280  POLITICAL,  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

replenishing  the  general  fund,  $625,828  ;  for  arrearages 
to  contractors,  $569,000. 

"Sec.  5.  Appropriates  $160,000  for  the  further  pros- 
ecution of  the  Black  River  Canal,  $200,000  for  the  Gen- 
esee  Valley  Canal,  $750,000  for  the  New  York  and  Erie 
Railroad  Company,  and  $1,400,000  for  the  Erie  Canal 
enlargement ;  and  charges  the  interest  (which  will  soon 
be  in  default)  of  the  New  York  and  Erie  Railroad  stock 
to  the  general  fund. 

"  Sec.  6.  Authorizes  the  comptroller  to  issue  bonds  to 
the  amount  of  $1,250,000  in  sums  of  ten  dollars,  payable 
in  one  year,  and  a  like  sum  in  two  years,  at  seven  per 
cent.,  for  the  objects  of  the  preceding  section. 

"  Sec.  7.  Authorizes  the  comptroller  to  pay  said  bonds 
in  the  stock  created  by  the  4th  section." 

It  will  be  perceived  that  Mr.  Dickinson's  bill  proposed 
a  tax  on  incorporated  companies  in  lieu  of  a  state  tax, 
a  sinking  fund  to  be  formed  from  the  moneys  hereafter 
to  be  paid  to  this  state  by  the  United  States  from  the 
avails  of  the  sales  of  public  lands,  and  a  continuation,  to 
a  limited  extent,  of  expenditures  for  carrying  on  the 
public  works. 

Mr.  Paige  then  proceeded,  in  a  speech  of  considera- 
ble length,  to  review  the  condition  of  the  state  finances, 
and  in  support  of  the  original  bill.  He  was  replied  to 
by  Mr.  Dickinson. 

The  motion  for  the  adoption  of  the  substitute  was  lost, 
only  six  whigs,  Dickinson,  Hard,  Hawkins,  Platt,  Root, 
and  Works,  voting  in  favor  of  it.  The  principal  ground 
taken  by  the  whigs  was  opposition  to  levying  a  tax,  which 
they  contended  might  be  dispensed  with  ;  and  to  a  total 
suspension  of  the  public  works. 

After  Mr.  Dickinson's  substitute  was  disposed  of,  Mr. 


1842.]  FOOTER'S  AMENDMENT.  281 

Foster  moved  an  amendment  to  the  fifth  subdivision  of 
the  fifth  section,  so  as  to  apply  not  exceeding  $400,000 
to  the  Erie  Canal  enlargement  and  the  Glens  Falls  feed- 
er ;  not  exceeding  $100,000  to  the  Black  River  Canal 
and  Erie  Canal  feeder  ;  and  not  exceeding  $150,000  to 
the  Genesee  Valley  Canal.  [The  section,  as  it  stood, 
appropriated  $500,000  to  the  preservation  of  works  now 
in  progress,  and  the  payment  of  land  damages.  The 
amendment  adds  $150,000  to  the  appropriation.] 

Mr.  Foster  said  it  would  be  perceived  that  his  propo- 
sition was  to  add  $150,000  to  the  amount  of  this  appro- 
priation, and  to  divide  it  in  such  manner  as  to  permit  the 
preservation  of  all  the  works  in  progress.  A  previous 
section  appropriated  $1,000,000  for  arrearages  to  con- 
tractors, extra  allowances,  and  land  damages  ;  and  the 
$500,000  in  this  subdivision  was  intended,  after  paying 
such  sums  as  might  be  necessary  to  secure  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  works,  to  make  up  for  deficiencies  in  the 
million.  Mr.  F.  was  desirous  to  go  for  the  lowest  pos- 
sible sum  which  could  secure  the  preservation  of  the 
canals  as  they  are,  and  put  those  that  are  navigable  in 
suitable  order.  But  he  believed  this  proposed  half  mil- 
lion would  prove  to  be  inadequate  to  save  the  state  from 
pecuniary  loss,  arising  from  the  destruction  of  works  par- 
tially completed. 

And  he  offered  his  amendment  in  the  shape  he  did  for 
another  consideration.  By  the  *enth  section,  all  works 
were  to  be  suspended  until  the  farther  order  of  the  legis- 
lature, except  three  kinds  of  work,  to  wit :  such  as  shall 
be  necessary  to  preserve  or  secure  the  navigation  ;  such 
as  may  be  necessary  to  preserve  works  already  done, 
from  destruction  by  ice  or  floods ;  or  such  as  the  com- 
pletion of  which  may  cost  less  than  will  be  saved  in  the 


282  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

preservation  of  the  work  already  done.  By  this  section 
nothing  could  be  done  upon  the  Black  River  Canal.  He 
believed  there  was  imminent  danger  of  the  destruction 
of  works  on  that  canal  from  causes  other  than  by  ice  or 
floods.  Mr.  F.  described  the  condition  of  locks,  which 
would  probably  decay  unless  water  was  admitted  into 
them. 

Mr.  Paige  said,  from  the  examination  he  had  given 
to  the  subject,  he  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the 
sums  appropriated  were  sufficient  for  the  purposes  indi- 
cated. Mr.  P.  went  briefly  into  detail  as  to  estimates, 
and  replied  to  the  other  parts  of  Mr.  Foster's  remarks,  by 
pointing  to  a  general  power  to  preserve  works  from  de- 
struction, contained  in  another  section. 

Mr.  Foster  rejoined,  differing  as  to  the  construction 
of  the  section. 

Mr.  Nicholas  said  there  was  another  item,  which  was 
altogether  unprovided  for  in  this  bill,  and  which  he  an- 
ticipated would  be  a  very  heavy  one ;  he  alluded  to 
damages  arising  out  of  the  suspension  of  contracts.  This 
was  kept  out  of  view  ;  but  if  the  work  was  to  be  arrested, 
it  should  be  provided  for  in  the  same  bill.  If  he  was 
rightly  informed,  the  contracts  which  would  be  suspend- 
ed amounted  to  some  $3,000,000,  and  that  the  claims  for 
damages  for  their  suspension  would  be  almost  as  large 
as  that  amount.  He  believed  that  the  sums  pro- 
vided in  the  bill  were  ample  for  the  objects  enumerated, 
and  he  could  not,  therefore,  vote  for  the  present  amend- 
ment. 

Mr.  Dickinson  could  not  go  for  this  small  amendment ; 
the  bait  was  too  insignificant.  Besides,  this  made  no 
provision  for  the  New  York  and  Erie  Railroad — a  work 
second  only  in  importance  to  the  Erie  Canal.  He  should 


1842.]  FAULKNER'S  AMENDMENT.  283 

therefore  vote  against  the  amendment  and  against  the 
bill,  and  go  before  the  people  upon  the  substitute  pro- 
posed by  him. 

Mr.  Foster's  amendment  was  rejected,  only  seven 
members,  Dickinson,  Faulkner,  Foster,  Hard,  Hawkins, 
Peck,  and  Works,  voting  for  it. 

Mr.  Faulkner  then  offered  an  amendment  to  the  tenth 
section.  This  amendment  proposed  to  join  the  canal 
commissioners  with  the  commissioners  of  the  canal  fund, 
in  the  power  to  direct  the  application  of  the  moneys  to 
particular  works,  and  to  enlarge  the  discretionary  pow- 
ers of  the  board  thus  to  be  formed.  Upon  an  inquiry 
made  by  Mr.  Dixon,  a  sound-minded  whig  member  from 
Chatauque,  whether  this  was  all  the  alteration  proposed 
to  be  effected  by  the  amendment ;  and  on  being  an- 
swered by  Mr.  Faulkner  in  the  affirmative,  Mr.  Dixon 
declined  to  vote  for  this  amendment,  and  it  received 
only  the  votes  of  Messrs.  Faulkner,  Foster,  Hard,  and 
Works. 

The  proceedings  of  the  democratic  members  of  the 
senate  on  the  amendments  of  Mr.  Foster  and  Mr.  Faulk- 
ner are  worthy  of  particular  notice,  because  they  afford- 
ed the  first  public  demonstration  in  our  state  legislature 
of  the  difference  of  opinion  between  that  portion  of  the 
democratic  party  called  Barnburners,  or  radicals,  and 
those  that  were  afterwards  called  conservatives,  or 
"  Hunkers."  For  the  purpose  of  avoiding  circumlocution, 
and  not  with  a  view  of  casting  reproach  upon  either  section, 
we  shall  call  the  one  party  hunkers,  and  the  other  radicals. 
The  radicals  claimed  to  be  more  stringent  in  their  views 
in  relation  to  state  expenditures  than  the  hunkers.  At 
the  head  of  the  former  stood  Mr.  Hoffman  in  the  assem- 
bly, and  Mr.  Dennison,  Mr.  Paige,  and  Mr.  Strong  in 


284  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

the  senate.  Of  the  latter,  Mr.  Seymour*  in  the  assem- 
bly, and  Mr.  Foster  in  the  senate,  were  the  most  distin- 
guished. Several  members  of  the  senate,  however,  who 
were  understood  to  agree  with  Mr.  Foster  in  his  general 
views,  and  who  afterwards  acted  with  him,  such  as  Mr. 
Corning  of  Albany,  Dr.  Ely  of  Otsego,  &c.,  did  not,  on 
this  occasion,  vote  with  him. 

There  is  a  curious  portion  of  unwritten  history  con- 
nected with  the  action  of  the  senate  on  this  bill,  which 
may  be  worth  the  attention  of  the  reader. 

Mr.  Hunter  and  Mr.  Dennison  had  declared  to  some 
of  their  political  friends,  that  if  Mr.  Foster's  amend- 
ment should  be  adopted  and  incorporated  in  the  bill, 
they  should  be  compelled  to  vote  against  it  on  the  ques- 
tion of  its  final  passage.  If,  then,  these  two  senators, 
and  all  the  whigs  had  voted,  as  it  was  known  they  would 
do,  against  the  bill,  it  would  inevitably  have  been  de- 
feated, for  there  were  but  seventeen  democratic  votes  in 
the  senate.  If,  therefore,  the  whigs  in  a  body  had  voted 
for  Mr.  Foster's  amendment,  and  then  voted  against  the 
final  passage  of  the  bill,  the  amendment  would  have 
been  adopted,  and  the  bill  defeated.  In  this  state  of  the 
case  a  communication  was  opened  with  one  of  the  lead- 
ing whig  senators,  who,  together  with  several  of  his 
friends,  thinking  the  amendment  of  very  little  conse- 
quence, and,  as  Mr.  Dickinson  said,  that  "  the  bait  was 
too  insignificant,"  and  probably  believing  that  the  sus- 
pension of  the  public  works  and  the  levying  of  a  direct 
tax  would  be  so  unpopular  as  to  break  down  the  party 

*  It  ought  to  be  noted,  that  Mr.  Seymour  voted  for  and  supported  the 
bill  in  question.  He  is  spoken  of  in  the  text  in  reference  to  his  subsequent 


1842.]  EFFECT  OF  LAW  OF  1842.  285 

which  supported  such  measures,  agreed  to  vote  with  the 
radicals  against  Mr.  Foster's  amendment.  If  this  state- 
ment is  correct,  and  we  have  it  from  unquestionable 
though  verbal  authority,  may  it  not  be  said  that  this 
great  measure  would  not  have  been  carried  had  it  not 
been  for  the  votes  of  the  whig  senators  ?* 

The  passage  of  this  law,  and  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
Flagg  as  comptroller,  produced  an  almost  instantaneous 
effect  on  the  public  credit.  Mr.  Flagg,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  appointed  comptroller  on  the  7th  of  February, 
and  the  law  of  which  we  are  speaking  was  passed  on 
the  29th  of  March.  Six  per  cent,  stocks,  before  the  pas- 
sage of  the  law,  sold  at  from  twenty  to  twenty-two  per 
cent,  below  par.  Five  per  cent,  stock  was  sold  at  sev- 
enty cents  on  the  dollar.  Within  two  months  after  the 
passage  of  the  law,  seven  per  cent,  stock  came  up  to 
par,  and  within  six  or  seven  months  six  per  cents,  also 
sold  at  par ;  and  in  fifteen  months,  according  to  the  Al- 
bany Argus,  five  per  cent,  stocks  were  at  par. 

*  It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  that  portion  of  the  whig  party  in  and 
out  of  the  legislature,  who  were  interested  iu  banks,  and  especially  those 
banks  which  had  taken  "  temporary  loans,"  were  not  desirous  that  the  bill 
of  1842  should  become  a  law,  inasmuch  as  they  must  have  foreseen  that 
the  effect  of  the  law  would  bo  to  raise  the  value  of  state  stocks,  with 
which  the  banks  able  to  loan  money  had  then  become  gorged.  In  support 
of  this  hypothesis,  a  highly  intelligent  correspondent  wrote  us  a  few  days 
ago  from  Albany,  on  the  subject  of  the  passage  of  the  finance  bill  through 
the  senate  in  1842,  that  "  the  action  of  the  whig  senators,  and  the  appro- 
val of  the  governor,  were  both  the  result  of  the  influence  of  the  moneyed 
interest,"  [we  are  sure  our  correspondent  does  not  mean  to  insinuate  that 
that  influence  operated  corruptly,]  "  in  whose  hands  or  vaults  were  sev- 
eral millions  of  the  recently  issued  stock.  Three  or  four  banks  in  this 
city  had  taken  $1,500,000,  I  think,  in  the  fall  of  1839.  The  state  had 
made  short  buns  from  the  banks,  and  finally,  in  the  fall  of  1841,  had  paid 
contractors  in  stock,  having  exhausted  all  other  means." 


286  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

A  change  in  the  state  of  the  money-market  no  doubt 
had  some  effect  in  producing  this  great  rise  in  the 
price  of  state  securities,  but  a  principal  cause  of  the 
great  advance  in  the  market  value  of  our  stocks  was 
the  restoration  of  confidence  in  the  soundness  of  our 
financial  system,  produced  by  the  passage  of  the  law 
levying  a  tax  and  suspending  public  expenditures,  and 
the  appointment  of  Mr.  Flagg,  in  whose  financial  skill, 
integrity,  and  firmness  capitalists  had  unbounded  confi- 
dence. No  man  ever  possessed  this  confidence  in  a 
higher  or  indeed  so  high  a  degree.  We  say  this  with- 
out intending  to  depreciate  the  merits  of  any  of  his  pre- 
decessors. 

What  probably  had  some  effect  in  preparing  the  pub- 
lic mind  for  receiving  favorably  the  financial  system 
enacted  by  the  statute  of  1842,  was  the  train  of  thought 
excited,  and  the  ideas  which  were  elicited  by  certain 
resolutions  for  an  amendment  of  the  constitution,  pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Loomis,  in  the  assembly  of  1841,  and 
again  offered  and  discussed  during  the  present  session. 
The  resolutions,  as  proposed  by  Mr.  Loomis,  were  in  the 
following  words  : 

"Resolved,  (if  the  senate  concur,)  That. the  following 
amendment  to  the  constitution  of  the  state  of  New  York 
be  proposed  and  referred  to  the  next  legislature  to  be 
chosen,  and  that  the  secretary  of  state  cause  the  same 
to  be  published  in  one  newspaper  in  each  of  the  counties 
of  this  state  in  which  a  newspaper  is  printed,  once  in 
each  week  for  three  months  next  previous  to  the  next 
annual  election,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the  first 
section  of  the  eighth  article  of  the  said  constitution  : 

"Resolved,  That  the  constitution  of  the  state  be  so 
amended,  that  every  law  authorizing  the  borrowing  of 


1842.]  LOOMIS'S  RESOLUTIONS.  287 

money,  or  the  issuing  of  state  stocks,  whereby  a  debt  shall 
be  created  or  increased  on  the  credit  of  the  state,  shall 
specify  the  object  for  which  the  money  shall  be  appro- 
priated ;  and  that  every  such  law  shall  embrace  no  more 
than  one  such  object,  which  shall  be  singly  and  specifi- 
cally stated ;  and  that  no  such  law  shall  take  effect  until 
it  shall  be  distinctly  submitted  to  the  people  at  the  next 
general  election,  and  be  approved  by  a  majority  of  the 
votes  cast  for  and  against  it  at  such  election.  That  all 
money  to  be  raised  by  the  authority  of  such  law,  be  ap- 
plied to  the  specific  object  stated  in  such  law,  and  to  no 
other  purposes  whatever,  except  the  payment  of  the  debt 
thereby  created  or  increased.  This  provision  shall  not 
extend  or  apply  to  any  law  to  raise  money  for  the  pur- 
pose of  suppressing  insurrection,  repelling  a  hostile  in- 
vasion, or  defending  the  state  in  war." 

As  the  principles  contained  in  the  last  resolution,  and 
indeed  almost  its  very  words,  were  adopted  by  the  late 
constitutional  convention,  and  now  make  a  part  of  our 
constitution,  and  as,  like  all  projects  of  reformers  when 
first  presented  to  the  public  eye,  they  were  generally 
viewed  as  visionary,  and  dangerously  revolutionary  in 
their  character,  it  seems  proper  to  give  some  account  of 
their  origin  and  the  manner  in  which  they  gradually  grew 
in  favor  with  the  public. 

We  happen  to  know  the  fact  that  ARPHAXAD  LO-*MIS 
is  the  parent  of  the  "people  s  resolutions."  He  first 
suggested  the  project  by  a  communication  written  by 
him,  which  was  published  in  the  Mohawk  Courier,  a 
paper  printed  at  Little  Falls.  The  article  attracted 
considerable  attention,  and  it  was  copied  into  several 
other  newspapers.  All  men  of  experience  and  reflec- 
tion had  seen  the  facility  with  which  combinations  could 


288  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

be  formed  to  carry  money  bills  through  the  legislature. 
All  felt  that  we  had  suffered  much,  and  might  in  future 
suffer  more,  by  improvident  legislation,  and  all  were  so- 
licitous that  a  remedy  should  be  discovered  and  applied. 
The  project  of  Judge  Loomis  seemed  to  provide  that 
remedy.  But  it  was  apprehended  that  the  very  combi- 
nation, which  his  resolutions  were  intended  to  destroy, 
would  prevent  their  adoption ;  and  for  some  time  there 
Was  reason  to  believe  those  apprehensions  were  well 
founded.  Mr.  Loomis,  however,  was  not  discouraged. 
After  his  election  to  the  assembly  in  November,  1840, 
he  advised  with  his  colleague,  Mr.  Hoffman,  and  with 
Mr.  Flagg,  both  of  whom  concurred  in  his  views.  He 
therefore,  in  the  session  of  1841,  proposed  the  resolu- 
tions in  the  assembly  of  that  year.  They  underwent 
some  discussion,  and  the  democratic  members  of  that 
assembly  voted  generally  for  their  adoption  ;  but,  it  will 
be  recollected  that  they  were  during  that  session  in  the 
minority.  After  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature  in 
1841,  many  of  the  democratic  newspapers  published 
those  resolutions  at  the  head  of  their  columns,  as  a  part 
of  their  creed.  They  at  first  denominated  them  "  Loo- 
mis's  resolutions ;"  but,  as  we  are  informed  by  a  friend 
at  Little  Falls,  the  editor  of  the  Mohawk  Courier  was 
requested  by  Mr.  Loomis  to  change  the  designation  of 
the  resolutions  from  that  of  "  Loomis's  resolutions"  to 
that  of  "  the  people's  resolutions."  With  this  request 
he  complied,  and  marked  the  change  in  such  manner  as 
to  call  the  attention  of  other  editors  to  the  alteration. 

In  1842,  Mr.  Loomis,  being  a  member,  again  intro- 
duced these  resolutions.  After  various  efforts  to  pro- 
crastinate, on  the  14th  of  March  they  came  up  for  dis- 
cussion, when  he  made  an  able  speech  in  their  favor, 


1845.]  GEN.    DIX'S    SPEECH.  28'J 

Mr.  Tamliu,  a  democratic  member  from  Jefferson  coun- 
ty, delivered  a  speech  in  opposition.  He  was  followed 
by  Gen.  Dix  from  Albany,  who  attempted  to  show 
the  danger  of  committing  to  the  legislature  unlimited 
power  to  involve  the  state  in  debt,  and  to  mortgage  the 
property  of  their  constituents  to  an  indefinite  amount ; 
and  he  concluded  an  eloquent  address,  by  saying : 

'•  I  do  trust  gentlemen  will  look  at  this  question  as  one 
of  principle,  and  not  in  reference  to  its  possible  bearings 
upon  local  interests.  Sir,  the  interests  of  the  day  are 
fleeting.  They  are  perpetually  varying  their  aspects 
and  phases.  Men  are  continually  entering  into  new 
combinations.  The  local  interest  of  to-day  may,  by 
change  of  circumstances,  lose  its  importance  to-morrow; 
and  he  who  abandons  a  great  principle  for  the  sake  of 
a  local  interest  may  find  himself  abandoned  when  he 
least  expects  it.  But  principles  are  eternal ;  and  he 
who  boldly  identifies  himself  with  them,  spurning  away 
all  minor  considerations,  can  never  fall,  for  he  stands 
upon  ground  which  is  impregnable.  Or,  if  he  does  fall 
for  the  moment,  the  excitement  by  which  he  has  been 
overborne  will  soon  pass  away,  and  he  will  rise  again 
with  new  honor  and  strength." 

The  ayes  and  noes  were  taken  on  the  resolutions, 
and  there  were  35  ayes  and  49  noes.  The  number  of 
those  who  voted  in  the  affirmative  being  less  than  the 
majority  of  all  the  members  elected  to  the  assembly,  the 
motion  for  the  adoption  of  the  resolution  (it  being  a  res- 
olution proposing  to  the  people  an  amendment  of  the 
constitution)  was  declared  lost ;  but  it  was  not  in  truth 
lost,  for  the  subject  continued  to  excite  the  attention  of 
the  community,  and  to  agitate  the  public  mind,  until  the 
meeting  of  the  constitutional  convention  in  1846,  when 
19 


290  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  XEW  YORK.  [1842. 

it  was  in  substance  adopted  by  that  body,  and  approved 
by  the  votes  of  a  large  majority  of  the  electors  of  the 
state. 

No  doubt  much  interest  was  felt  by  the  politicians  at 
the  seat  of  government,  and  by  the  members  of  the  le- 
gislature of  both  parties,  in  relation  to  the  selection  of  a 
candidate  for  governor.  The  hunkers  were  generally 
in  favor  of  the  renomination  of  William  C.  Bouck,  who, 
although  beaten  at  the  election  in  1840,  had  received 
several  thousand  more  votes  than  were  cast  for  the  dem- 
ocratic candidates  for  presidential  electors,  from  which 
an  evidence  of  his  personal  popularity  was  inferred ; 
while  the  radical  leaders  were  rather  averse  to  his  nom- 
ination, and  preferred  some  other  candidate.  Among 
other  gentlemen  of  whom  they  spoke,  Gen.  Dix  was 
mentioned  as  a  person  who  would  be  very  acceptable 
to  them  and  to  the  public  in  general,  but  no  serious  al- 
tercations took  place,  nor  were  there  any  public  devel- 
opments of  a  settled  difference  of  opinion.  All  mani- 
fested their  willingness,  and  indeed  their  determination, 
to  support  such  candidate  as  should  be  nominated  by  a 
state  convention. 

We  have  mentioned  that  during  this  winter  the  germs 
of  the  two  parties,  hunkers  and  radicals,  began  to  be 
perceived  in  the  democratic  party.  At  the  same  time, 
if  not  before,  the  whigs  afforded  evidence  that  they  too 
were  splitting  into  two  parties.  The  particular  friends 
of  Gov.  Se ward  were  more  radical  in  their  political  prin- 
ciples, and  more  favorably  disposed  towards  foreigners, 
and  especially  Irish  emigrants,  and  more  inclined  to  tol- 
erate the  peculiar  doctrines  and  principles  of  the  aboli- 
tionists, than  some  other  prominent  members  of  the  same 
party.  There  is  a  class  of  men,  many  of  whom  by-the- 


1842.]  VIRGINIA    CONTROVERSY.  291 

by  are  pure  and  highly  honorable  men,  who  are  alarmed 
at  any  new  doctrines  or  political  projects,  who  abhor  all 
innovations,  and  who  seem  to  believe  that  the  most  de- 
cisive evidence  of  patriotism,  and  sound  and  safe  policy, 
is  an  inflexible  adherence  to  things  and  institutions  as 
they  are,  and  have  been  transmitted  to  us  by  those  who 
have  preceded  us.  Of  this  last  description  of  men  there 
were  many  among  the  whigs ;  and  that  portion  of  the 
whig  party  may  be  properly  termed  conservative  whigs, 
while  the  other  class  may,  with  equal  propriety,  be  de- 
nominated radical  whigs.  If  the  latter  description  of 
politicians,  whether  they  be  whigs  or  democrats,  some- 
times err,  by  too  much  subservience  to  what  they  deem 
is  or  will  be  most  popular  among  the  masses  ;  the  former 
also,  in  our  judgment,  frequently,  to  use  the  mildest  term, 
misjudge,  living  as  they  do  under  a  government  which 
is  a  representative  democracy,  by  affecting  a  disregard 
and  contempt  for  the  opinions  or  even  the  prejudices  of 
the  multitude.  Hence  the  whigs  were  also  divided  on 
the  question  in  relation  to  the  selection  of  their  candi- 
date for  governor. 

LUTHER  BRADISH,  then  lieutenant-governor,  as  pure  a 
man  as  ever  lived,  was  undoubtedly  the  most  prominent 
man  of  the  party,  (Gov.  Seward  being  out  of  the  ques- 
tion,) but  he  was  regarded  with  jealousy  and  coldness 
.by  some  of  the  radical  whigs.  Both  sections  of  the  whig 
party,  however,  like  the  two  sections  of  the  democratic 
party,  generally  determined  to  abide  by  and  support  the 
result  of  the  action  of  a  state  convention. 

On  the  llth  of  April,  the  day  before  the  adjournment 
of  the  legislature,  the  Virginia  controversy,  of  which 
we  have  said  so  much,  again  excited  the  attention  and 
action  of  the  two  houses  of  the  legislature. 


202  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

Mr.  Strong,  of  the  senate,  submitted  a  preamble  and 
joint  resolution  to  that  bodv,  declaring  that  stealing  a, 
slave,  contrary  to  the  laws  of  Virginia,  is  a  crime  with- 
ki  the  meaning  of  the  constitution,  and  directing  that 
a  copy  of  this  preamble  and  resolution  be  transmitted 
to  the  executive  of  Virginia.  Messrs.  Dickinson  and 
Hard  opposed  the  adoption  of  this  resolution,  but  it 
passed  by  a  vote  of  16  to  14,  all  the  democratic  mem- 
bers voting  in  the  affirmative,  except  Mr.  Bockee. 

On  this  resolution  coming  into  the  assembly,  Mr. 
Seymour  moved  its  reference  to  the  judiciary  com- 
mittee, which  motion  was  Jost,  whereupon  Messrs.  Da- 
vezac  and  Townsend  advocated  a  concurrence ;  and 
the  previous  question  being  moved  and  sustained,  the 
resolution  was  concurred  in  by  the  assembly, — 62  vo- 
ting in  the  affirmative  and  35  in  the  negative.  The  vote 
.  in  the  assembly  was  also  a  party  vote,  the  whigs  general- 
ly voting  against  the  resolution  and  the  democrats  for  it. 
Mr.  D.  S.  Wright  refused  to  vote.  We  must  be  ex- 
cused for  saying  that  we  are  glad  to  find  on  the  journals 
of  the  assembly  the  name  of  that  excellent  legislator, 
Calvin  T.  Hulburt  of  St.  Lawrence,  among  those  who 
voted  in  the  negative. 

The  next  day  Gov.  Seward  sent  a  message  to  the  le- 
gislature, in  which,  after  reiterating  in  a  very  pointed 
manner  the  opinions  he  had  formerly  expressed  on  the 
subject,  and  declaring  his  adherence  to  them,  he  declines 
being  the  agent  of  the  two  houses  in  transmitting  the 
preamble  and  resolution  to  the  executive  of  Virginia, 
and  recommends  to  the  two  houses  the  selection  of 
some  other  organ  of  communication  between  them  and 
the  executive  of  "our  sister  commonwealth." 
'  The  legislature  then  adjourned  to  meet  again  on  the 


1842.]  STATE    PRINTER.  293 

16th  day  of  August,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  dividing  the 
state  into  congressional  districts,  in  pursuance  of  a  re- 
cent act  of  congress.  Before  the  adjournment,  how- 
ever, the  members  of  each  party  adopted  and  issued  an 
address  to  their  constituents. 

In  the  year  1840  a  law  passed  appointing  Thurlow 
Weed  state  printer,  in  lieu  of  Edwin  Croswell,  for  the 
term  of  four  years  from  that  time.  By  the  fourth  sec- 
tion of  the  act  the  secretary  of  state  and  comptroller 
were  authorized  to  contract  with  the  printer  to  the  state 
for  the  printing,  "  during  the  term  of  his  appointment,"  of 
the  journals  of  the  two  houses,  bills,  &c.,  at  prices  adapt- 
ed to  and  not  exceeding  the  rates  ordinarily  charged  by 
printers  in  Albany  for  such  services.  A  contract  for 
printing  was  immediately  made  by  the  comptroller  and 
secretary  with  Mr.  Weed  in  pursuance  of  the  fourth 
section,  in  which  it  was  of  course  stipulated  between  the 
parties  that  the  contract  should  continue  four  years. 

During  the  session  of  1842  a  bill  was  brought  in  re- 
pealing or  materially  modifying  the  act  of  1840,  removing 
Mr.  Weed,  and  requiring  the  appointment  of  a  new  state 
printer.  This  bill  passed  both  houses,  and  was  sent  to 
the  governor  for  his  approval ;  but  he  returned  it  to  the 
assembly  with  his  veto,  stating  as  his  principal  reason 
that  the  contract  between  Mr.  Weed  and  the  state  offi- 
cers could  not  be  abrogated  without  the  consent  as  well 
of  Mr.  Weed  as  of  the  state.  The  bill,  on  a  reconsid- 
:  eration,  passed  the  assembly  by  the  constitutional  ma- 
jority, 82  members  voting  in  its  favor,  arid  32  against  it, 
but  it  was  lost  in  the  senate,  more  than  one-third  in  that 
house  being  opposed  to  it. 

The  governor's  veto  message  certainly  did  present 
a  very  grave  constitutional  question  ;  and  on  examining 


:J94  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NBW  YORK.  [J842. 

the  journal,  we  find  that  Horatio  Seymour  and  that  able 
lawyer,  Charles  Humphrey,  although  both  were  demo- 
crats, did  not  vote  on  the  question. 

Mr.  O'Sullivan  again  introduced  a  bill  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  capital  punishment,  which  he  supported  with 
renewed  zeal  and  energy,  but  was  finally  unsuccessful, 
45  members  being  for,  and  55  against  it.  We  regret  to 
perceive  the  names  of  Dix,  Seymour,  and  Hoffman 
among  those  who  voted  in  the  negative. 

During  the  winter  and  summer  of  1842,  matters  of 
deep  interest  were  discussed  and  passed  upon  by  the  na- 
tional legislature,  in  which  Mr.  Wright,  as  the  represen- 
tative in  the  United  States  senate  from  this  state,  acted 
a  distinguished  part. 

At  the  extra  session  of  1841,  a  law  had  been  passed 
to  fund  the  treasury  notes  which  had  been  put  afloat, 
and  to  raise  by  a  loan  at  six  per  cent,  several  millions  of 
dollars.  By  the  law,  however,  the  secretary  of  the 
treasury  was  prohibited  from  suffering  the  stock  thus 
created  to  be  negotiated  at  a  price  less  than  par ;  the 
consequence  of  which  was,  that  no  money  was  brought 
into  the  treasury,  and  it  became  embarrassed.  Mr. 
Evans  of  Maine,  who  had  succeeded  Mr.  Clay  as  chair- 
man of  the  finance  committee,  reported  a  bill  author- 
izing the  stock  "  to  be  sold  at  the  highest  price  which 
could  be  obtained  in  market  for  it."  This  bill  was  op- 
posed by  Mr.  Wright  in  an  able  argument,  showing, 
among  other  things,  the  fatal  consequences  of  suffering 
our  stocks  to  be  hawked  about  in  market,  and  sold  under 
their  par  value.  He  concludes  by  saying  : 

"  I  may  be  asked  by  the  friends  of  this  bill,  what  shall 
be  done  ?  And  I  admit  that  the  inquiry  is  fairly  made. 
I  claim,  Mr.  President,  but  a  small  portion  of  the  wisdom 


1842.]  MR.  WRIGHT'S  SI>EI:CII.  295 

necessary  to  answer  safely  and  properly  such  a  ques- 
tion ;  but  I  say,  unhesitatingly,  do  any  thing,  do  nothing, 
rather  than  pass  this  bill  in  its  present  form.  Call  back 
the  land  fund,  and  pledge  it  inviolably  to  sustain  your 
credit  and  meet  the  interest  upon  your  loans,  and  then 
fix  your  stock  at  par,  and  give  an  interest  which  will 
command  the  money.  I  think  six  per  cent,  and  twenty 
years'  time  will  do  it  abundantly,  and  I  do  not  doubt  the 
prompt  subscription  of  the  amount  you  require,  if  books 
were  to  be  opened  upon  these  terms  ;  but  if  six  per  cent, 
would  not,  seven  would.  Then  you  would  meet  all  com- 
petitors fairly  in  the  market,  and  make  the  actual  value 
of  money  the  standard  of  success. 

"  Bring  down  your  expenses  from  the  twenty-five  or 
twenty-six  millions  per  annum,  which  you  now  propose, 
to  twenty  millions,  or  to  eighteen  millions,  if  need  be  ;  re- 
store the  land  fund  to  the  treasury,  and  increase  it  by 
pre-emption  and  graduation  bills,  which  certainly  will 
increase  it  immediately  ;  offer  your  fresh  lands  for  sale, 
and  live  upon  the  means  you  can  thus  command,  until 
you  can  improve  your  revenue  from  customs,  or  obtain 
loans  upon  terms  reasonable  in  themselves,  and  which 
will  not  spread  ruin  over  the  states,  and  prostrate  the 
business  of  the  country.  Do  gentlemen  forget  that  cash 
duties  are  hereafter  to  be  paid  in  all  cases  of  revenue 
from  customs,  and  that  consequently  an  increase  of  the 
tariff  is  to  be  an  instant  supply  of  revenue,  if  the  rate  of 
duty  be  made  sufficient,  and  the  importations  continue  ? 
There  is  no  longer  to  be  a  system  of  credits  to  postpone 
the  influence  upon  the  treasury  of  this  part  of  our  legis- 
lation. Why  then  borrow  money  for  twenty  years  at 
all  ?  And  certainly,  why  put  the  credit  of  the  country 
at  auction,  when  relief  is  so  easily  reached,  and  can  so 


296  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

instantly  be  made  effectual  ?  If  the  pledge  of  the  land 
fund  does  not  bring  you  loans  upon  reasonable  terms,  it 
will  bring  you  means  to  the  amount  of  three  millions  per 
year  at  the  least,  and  if  improved  as  suggested,  may 
bring  you  five,  for  a  period  sufficient  to  enable  you  to 
improve  your  other  sources  of  revenue. 

"  If  these  things  cannot  be  done,  follow  the  noble  ex- 
ample of  New  York  ;  lay  taxes,  direct  or  indirect,  or 
both  ;  stop  expenditure  beyond  the  means  which  the 
lands  and  the  customs  will  supply  ;  fund  the  outstanding 
treasury  notes  as  you  propose  to  do  in  this  bill,  and 
wait  until  the  money-market  shall  improve,  or  until  you 
can  realize  an  adequacy  of  means  from  your  improved 
revenues.  Again,  I  say,  do  any  thing,  do  nothing,  rather 
than  propose  to  sell  your  credit,  in  the  open  market,  for 
what  it  may  bring. 

"  We  are  daily  told,  Mr.  President,  that  our  foreign 
relations  wear  a  threatening  aspect.  I  do  not  pretend 
to  be  intimately  or  extensively  acquainted  with  those 
relations,  nor  have  I  ever  made  myself  an  alarmist  re- 
specting them  ;  but  this  I  do  feel  authorized  to  say,  that 
there  are  causes  for  just  uneasiness  in  more  than  one 
direction,  and  especially  in  our  British  relations.  And 
is  such  the  time  we  should  select  to  offer  the  very 
standard  of  American  credit  for  sale  at  auction  in  the 
markets  of  the  world  ?  Is  such  the  period  when  we 
should  make  ourselves  willing  to  put  our  bond  upon 
change  in  the  metropolis  of  that  proud  country,  guaran- 
tied by  the  credit  and  faith  and  honor  of  this  Union,  and 
make  our  supplicatory  appeal  to  her  bankers  and  brokers 
to  give  us  a  bid  for  it  ?  I  cannot  think  so." 

A  bill  was  introduced  into  congress,  and  passed  both 
houses,  requiring  the  several  states  to  pass  laws  for 


1842.]  CONGRESSIONAL  DISTRICTS.  297 

the  election  of  members  of  congress  by  single  districts. 
This  bill  Mr.  Wright  also  opposed,  not,  as  we  under- 
stand him,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not  desirable  that 
there  should  be  a  uniform  mode  of  election  of  represen- 
tatives to  the  national  legislature,  'nor  that  he  was  op- 
posed to  the  division  of  each  state  into  single  congres- 
sional districts ;  but  because,  in  his  judgment,  congress 
had  no  power  to  pass  a  law  commanding  the  states  to 
legislate  on  any  given  question.  Mr.  Wright's  reason- 
ing on  this  quiftstion  is  very  ingenious.  We  shall  give  a 
compendium  of  his  argument,  digested  by  himself,  afford- 
ing as  it  does  a  fine  specimen  of  the  action  of  his  clear 
logical  mind  : 

"  Passing  the  other  arguments  by  which  this  novel 
enactment  is  attempted  to  be  sustained,  I  wish  to  bring 
the  senate,  for  one  moment,  to  the  consideration  of  the 
great  interests — I  may  almost  say,  in  a  political  sense, 
estates — involved  in  this  action. 

"  The  first,  in  the  constitutional  order,  was  the  people 
of  the  respective  states,  to  whom  the  right  of  electing 
representatives  to  the  congress  was  expressly  reserved. 

"  The  second  was  the  legislatures  of  the  states,  upon 
which  the  duty  was  devolved,  in  the  absence  of  any  ac- 
tion on  the  part  of  congress,  to  prescribe  the  regulations 
necessary  to  enable  the  people  to  exercise  this  great 
constitutional  right. 

"  The  third  was  congress,  upon  which  a  discretionary 
power  was  conferred  to  make  these  regulations,  if  the 
states  did  not,  or  to  alter  the  regulations  which  the  states 
might  have  made. 

"  The  first  (the  people)  have  thus  far  enjoyed  their 
great  right  under  the  regulations  of  the  states — and 
that,  too,  without  injury  or  complaint. 


298  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

"  The  second  (the  states)  have  acted  under  the  con- 
stitution, and  performed  the  duty  enjoined  upon  them,  in 
a  way  to  preserve  the  right  of  the  people,  and  its  prac- 
tical and  beneficial  exercise. 

"  The  third  (congress)  now  comes  in,  and  proposes, 
not  to  make  regulations  by  its  own  action — not  by  its 
own  action  to  alter  the  regulations  which  the  states 
have  made — but  to  prescribe  certain  rules  by  which  the 
legislatures  of  the  states  shall  alter  their  own  regula- 
tions. 

"Congress  admits  its  want  of  power  to  compel  the 
state  legislatures  to  comply  with  its  prescription,  and 
alter  their  regulations  to  conform  to  it.  And  how  does 
it  propose  to  attempt  coercion  upon  them  ?  By  abridg- 
ing any  of  their  powers  or  privileges  ?  No  ;  but  by 
forfeiting  this  great  right  of  the  people  of  the  state  to 
elect  representatives,  if  their  legislature  do  not  comply. 

"  Thus  the  fault  is  to  be  either  in  congress,  or  in  the 
state  legislature.  The  people  can  coerce  neither ;  and 
yet  the  forfeiture  for  the  fault  is  to  be  visited  upon  the 
only  innocent  party  of  the  three — the  people — who  can- 
not make  the  regulations,  and  whose  most  essential  right 
is  to  be  forfeited  if  they  are  not  made.  Was  such  ac- 
tion, on  the  part  of  congress,  constitutional,  or  wise,  or 
expedient  ?  To  his  mind,  it  was  neither." 

As,  by  the  operation  of  the  compromise  law,  the  du- 
ties on  imports  were  now  reduced  to  twenty  percent.,  it 
was  evident  that  a  sufficient  amount  of  revenue  would 
not  be  produced  to  defray  the  current  expenses  of  the 
government.  The  whigs  then  held  a  majority  in  the 
two  houses  of  congress,  and  were  extremely  anxious  to 
retain  and  render  effective  the  law  passed  at  the  extra 
session,  which  provided  for  a  distribution  among  the  re- 


1842.]  TARIFF    BILL    OF    1842.  299 

spective  states  of  the  avails  of  the  land  sales.  The  dis- 
tribution law,  as  it  then  stood,  contained  a  proviso,  if  we 
recollect  rightly,  that  whenever  the  expenses  of  the  gov- 
ernment should  require  that  a  higher  duty  should  be 
levied  on  any  imported  article  than  twenty  per  cent.,  no 
distribution  for  land  sold  should  be  made.  Two  bills  in 
relation  to  revenue  were  passed  by  congress,  in  one  of 
which  a  clause  was  contained  repealing  the  proviso 
attached  to  the  land  bill ;  and  in  the  other  the  distribu- 
tion was  postponed,  but  not  abandoned.  The  president 
vetoed  both  bills.  This  produced  a  necessity  for  con- 
gress to  pass  a  new  tariff  law,  having  partly  for  its  ob- 
ject an  increase  of  revenue,  which  of  course  raised  the 
duty  on  some  articles  much  above  twenty  per  cent. ;  and 
a  bill  for  that  purpose  was  introduced.  A  majority  of 
the  democratic  members  of  congress,  and  nearly  all  the 
southern  members,  were  warmly  opposed  to  raising  the 
tariff  of  duties. 

When  this  bill  came  before  the  senate,  Mr.  Wright 
found  himself  extremely  embarrassed;  and  his  embarrass- 
ment was  increased  upon  ascertaining  the  fact  that  on 
his  single  vote  depended  the  question  whether  the  bill 
should  or  should  not  become  a  law.  On  the  one  hand, 
nearly  all  his  political  friends  were  opposed  to  the  bill, 
and  besides,  he  really  and  conscientiously  disapproved 
of  many  of  its  details  ;  on  the  other,  if,  by  his  vote,  he 
should  prevent  the  passage  of  the  bill,  as  the  compro- 
mise act  had,  as  was  contended,  expired,  the  nation  would 
be  left  without  a  revenue ;  all  the  operations  of  the  gov- 
ernment would  be  interrupted,  if  not  suspended  ;  and  the 
business  of  the  country,  particularly  the  manufacturing 
and  commercial  business,  would  be  greatly  deranged,  if 
not  prostrated.  He  therefore  determined  to  vote  for  the 


300  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

bill ;  but  before  voting,  he  delivered  an  elaborate  and 
able  speech,  in  which  he  explained  his  position,  and  the 
reasons  which  induced  him  to  vote  in  the  affirmative. 
The  principal  part  of  his  speech,  however,  is  occupied 
in  pointing  out  defects  in  the  system  which  the  bill  pro- 
posed to  adopt.  These  defects,  he  hoped,  would  at  no 
distant  day  be  removed. 

"  The  treasury,"  said  Mr.  Wright,  "  is  empty  ;  and 
almost  daily  the  public  creditors  are  turned  away  from 
it  without  payment.  This  very  congress  has  increased, 
and  is  daily  increasing,  the  public  expenditures,  and 
thus  creating  the  necessity  for  increased  revenues  :  and 
the  public  credit  is  not  sinking,  but  sunken  ;  so  that  loans, 
at  high  interest  and  at  long  time,  cannot  be  negotiated 
at  home  or  abroad,  upon  the  declared  reason  that  we 
have  not  revenues  to  meet  the  payment  of  the  public 
liabilities.  These  changes  of  circumstances  constituted, 
in  his  mind,  the  highest  necessity  for  a  revenue  law,  and 
forced  upon  him,  under  the  most  solemn  sense  of  public 
duty,  the  course  of  action  which  he  proposed  to  pursue. 
All  he  could  ask  of  the  friends  who  should  differ  from 
him,  and  believe  him  to  be  still  in  error,  was,  that  they 
would  believe  him  to  be  governed  by  pure  motives ;  and 
if  in  error,  to  be  honestly  so.  He  owed  it  to  those 
friends,  as  well  as  to  himself,  to  make  another  remark  ; 
which  was,  that  the  consequences  of  his  action,  if  evil, 
should  be  visited  upon  himself  alone  ;  as  no  friend,  here 
or  elsewhere,  had  interfered  to  bring  him  to  the  conclu- 
sion he  had  pronounced.  Many  very  dear  friends, 
whose  judgments,  upon  almost  all  occasions,  he  valued 
more  highly  than  his  own,  had  kindly  attempted  to  con- 
vince him  that  he  was  in  error — not  one  to  urge  him  to 
give  the  vote." 


1842.]  CHARACTER  OF  MR.  WRIGHT  301 

No  act  of  his  life  endeared  Mr.  Wright  so  much  to 
the  whole  people  of  New  York,  as  the  vote  he  gave  on 
this  occasion. 

So  high  was  his  standing  at  the  seat  of  the  national 
government  at  this  time,  and  so  justly  were  his  charac- 
ter and  merits  appreciated,  that  in  1842  the  following 
article  appeared  in  the  Washington  Globe,  which  fur- 
nishes so  accurate  and  just  a  description  of  the  man,  that 
we  cannot  deny  ourselves  the  pleasure  of  copying  it, 
though  there  are  things  in  it  which  might  be  more  ap- 
propriately quoted  at  the  close  of  this  work,  where  we 
shall  attempt  to  draw  a  portrait  of  this  distinguished 
statesman. 

"  A  leading  man  in  the  senate  and  of  his  party,"  says 
the  Globe,  "is  Silas  Wright.  Few  men  have  acquired 
distinguished  reputation  by  such  fair  means.  The  esti- 
mation in  which  he  is  held  by  his  fellows  and  by  the 
nation,  is  due  to  substantial  merit  alone.  He  has  won 
his  way  to  the  highest  position,  without  early  advan- 
tages of  friends  or  fortune,  and  maintained  it  without 
any  of  those  dazzling  qualities  which  sometimes  give 
a  false  glare  to  clever  mediocrity.  He  has  those  provin- 
cial peculiarities  of  pronunciation"  and  phraseology  that 
characterize  the  plainer  class  of  New  Englanders,  from 
which  he  has  sprung.  No  man,  merely  looking  at  the 
senate,  would  designate  Silas  Wright  as  one  of  its  chief 
ornaments ;  no  one,  seeing  him  rise,  or  hearing  his  first 
tones,  could  be  made  to  believe  that  a  distinguished  ora- 
tor was  addressing  that  bodv-  Yet  no  man  commands 
greater  attention  in  the  senate,  or  is  heard  with  greater 
acceptation  and  confidence  by  the  people.  What  can 
be  higher  proof  of  merit  than  reputation  achieved  with 
so  little  extrinsic  recommendation  ? 


302  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

"  Mr.  Wright  never  discusses  a  subject  without  being 
thoroughly  master  of  its  principles  and  details.  When 
he  speaks,  his  arrangement,  though  natural,  is  so  lucid, 
and  his  manner  of  communicating  his  ideas  so  clear  and 
satisfactory,  that  he  captivates  all  classes  of  hearers. 
The  subject  is  so  stripped  of  its  difficulties,  and  present- 
ed in  a  form  so  striking,  and  yet  so  easy,  that  the  lis- 
tener is  flattered  by  the  facility  with  which  he  compre- 
hends that  which  before  appeared  to  him  so 'intricate 
and  involved.  Commencing  without  pretension,  the 
speaker,  nevertheless,  warms  with  his  subject ;  and  never 
o'erstepping  the  modesty  ^>f  nature,  he  yet  delivers  him- 
self with  a  persuasive  earnestness,  which  gives  an  air  of 
conviction  to  all  that  he  utters. 

"  Mr.  Wright  never  loses  his  temper,  nor  is  ever  be- 
trayed into  those  indiscretions  or  extravagances  so  diffi- 
cult to  restrain  in  the  ardor  of  debate.  Let  the  gale 
blow  ever  so  hard,  the  ship  never  refuses  to  obey  her 
helm.  On  the  contrary,  the  greater  the  violence  of 
winds  and  waves,  the  more  calm  her  course,  the  more 
steady  her  action.  You  cannot  provoke  Mr.  Wright 
to  an  imprudent  retort,  nor  decoy  him  into  an  indis- 
creet concession.  He  replies  with  the  most  hopeless 
tranquillity,  or  fixes  his  calm  eye  upon  you  with  resist- 
less penetration.  He  always  knows  what  he  is  about, 
and  detects,  with  ,the  promptness  of  intuitive  sagacity, 
the  designs  of  others.  He  is  so  wary  and  provident, 
that  he  has  been  described  as  cunning — a  term  which  is 
not  rightly  applied  to  that  penetrating  sagacity  which 
may  be  exercised  with  entire  fairness  and  perfect  self- 
control,  without  which  great  and  permanent  success 
cannot  be  achieved  in  any  of  the  pursuits  of  life.  The 
scriptural  precept  inculcates  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent, 


1842.]  CHARACTER  OF  MR.  WRIGHT.  303 

combined  with  the  innocence  of  the  dove.  True  saga- 
city is  practical  wisdom ;  while  cunning,  its  miserable 
substitute,  in  the  end  never  fails  to  overreach  itself. 

"  Mr.  Wright  does  not  speak  frequently,  nor  ever  for 
popular  effect.  He  would  not  compromise,  much  less 
sacrifice,  an  important  object  for  the  greatest  momenta- 
ry triumph.  He  exerts  himself  to  accomplish  his  pur- 
poses, not  to  win  the  applause  of  the  gallery?"  or  the 
hackneyed  tributes  of  the  parasitical  purveyors  for  the 
press.  He  is  a  statesman,  not  an  actor ;  a  senator,  not 
a  performer. 

"  His  character  presents  some  singular  points  of  con- 
trast, to  which  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  call  attention. 
Of  humble  origin,  and  the  plainest  early  associations, 
he  is  yet  a  model  of  courtesy  in  debate,  and  of  delicacy 
in  legislative  deportment ;  the  most  senatorial  of  sena- 
tors ;  and  his  style  of  speaking  is  of  that  unostentatious 
dignity  which  was  characterized  as  the  oratio  togata. 
Whatever  others  may  prate  of  birth  and  fashion  and 
refinement,  the  plain  New  Yorker  is  the  most  gentle- 
manly of  senators.  Indeed,  so  admirable  is  his  public 
deportment,  that  the  slightest  disrespect  shown  to  him 
would  arouse  general  indignation  in  the  body  of  which 
he  is  a  member.  When  forced  (which  is  rarely  the  case) 
into  personal  collision,  he  has  given  signal  proof  that 
his  forbearance  is  the  result  of  any  thing  rather  than  a 
want  of  proper  spirit.  He  is  endowed  with  that  calm 
and  self-sustaining  courage,  which  is  so  much  more  re- 
spectable than  that  uneasy  susceptibility  which  is  always 
seeking  or  giving  offence. 

"  Another  curious  opposition  is  to  be  found  in  his  pas- 
sion for  finance,  and  yet  pecuniary  indifference.  Figures 
of  arithmetic  have  more  charms  for  him  than  figures  of 


304  POLITICAL  HISTURY  OI1  XEVV   YORK.  [1842. 

rhetoric.  He  revels  in  numbers,  and  has  the  art  of  ar- 
ranging them  in  such  form  as  to  make  them  even  attrac- 
tive. As  chairman  of  the  committee  on  finance,  the 
promptitude  and  clearness  of  his  explanations  elicited  uni- 
versal admiration.  Few -will  forget  the  masterly  manner 
in  which  he  explained  and  vindicated  from  ignorant  as- 
saults the  safety-fund  system  of  New  York, — a  system 
which,  whatever  may  be  its  defects,  has  preserved  that 
state,  in  a  great  degree,  from  those  financial  calamities 
which  have  produced  so  much  ruin  elsewhere.  Old 
El  was,  the  miser,  used  to  say  he  was  fond  of  the  speeches 
of  Mr.  Pitt,  because  they  were  so  full  of  pounds,  shil- 
lings, and  pence.  He  would  have  heard  those  of  Mr. 
Wright  with  equal  gratification.  Yet,  like  Mr.  Pitt,  the 
American  financier  manifests  a  disregard  for  money. 

"  It  is  curious  to  remark  how  different  are  the  study 
and  pursuit  of  wealth.  The  most  skilful  banker  and  suc- 
cessful merchant  are  often  entirely  ignorant  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  finance,  or  the  laws  of  trade.  Such  were 
Dexter  and  Girard,  and  many  others  who  might  be  cited. 
On  the  contrary,  our  country  presents  the  remarkable 
instances  of  Hamilton  arid  the  elder  Dallas,  both  accom- 
plished financiers,  and  both  alike  neglectful  of  their  per- 
sonal interests.  Although  fora  longtime  superintending 
the  financial  affairs  of  the  great  state  of  New  York,  and 
afterwards  so  conspicuously  connected  with  the  fiscal 
affairs  of  the  general  government,  Mr.  Wright  has  never 
endeavored  to  increase  his  little  peculium.  This  con- 
sists chiefly  of  a  small  farm  near  the  St.  Lawrence,  which 
is  in  a  great  degree  cultivated  by  his  own  hands.  There 
he  may  be  seen  plying  the  spade  or  wheeling  the  barrow 
in  primitive  simplicity.  There  is  no  ostentation  of  hu- 
mility in  this ;  for,  without  the  slightest  tincture  of  agra- 


1842.]  CHARACTER  OF  MR.  WRIGHT.  305 

rian  or  anti-social  notions,  he  is  a  republican  of  the  sim- 
plest and  straitest  sect,  not  only  in  opinion,  but  in  habits 
and  feelings.  He  'mends  his  fences'  without  talking 
about  them,  and  is  a  farmer,  without  canting  about  agri- 
culture in  the  senate.  In  this  age  of  selfishness  and 
of  speculation,  arid  unscrupulous  thirst  for  wealth,  it  is 
refreshing  to  find  an  American  statesman  of  the  highest 
rank,  who  would  have  done  honor  to  the  early  and  un- 
corrupt  days  of  the  Roman  republic. 

"Again  :  although  Mr.  Wright  is  a  wary  and  saga- 
cious politician,  he  seems  to  have  no  projects  or  even 
desires  of  personal  advancement.  His  ambition,  if  he 
have  any,  is  for  the  success  of  his  principles,  his  party, 
his  friends.  He  seems  to  regard  himself  as  an  instru- 
ment, and  a  very  able  one  he  is,  for  others.  Neither 
side  ever  suspects  him  of  laboring  for  his  own  ends.  It 
is  indeed  curious,  that  with  such  abilities  and  such  rep- 
utation, he  should  be  so  entirely  devoid  of  personal  as- 
pirations. His  devotion  to  the  late  president  was  as 
unbounded  as  disinterested ;  and  whatever  may  be 
thought  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  by  his  opponents,  it  cannot 
be  asserted  that  he  did  not  return  the  attachment  with 
fraternal  warmth.  If  I  have  dwelt  with  such  emphasis 
upon  the  character  of  the  senator  from  New  York,  it  is 
because  its  traits  are  as  ample  and  attractive  as  they  are 
rare  in  our  day  and  generation.  Who  would  not  take 
pleasure  in  praising  a  man  who  seems  utterly  forgetful 
of  self — whose  public  course  has  ever  been  as  blame- 
less as  it  is  shining  and  elevated  ?  There  are  men  with 
more  genius  and  more  striking  qualities  than  Silas 
Wright — none  of  more  substantial  talent  and  practical 
wisdom  and  virtuous  character." 

While  Mr.  Wright  was  gathering  these  golden  opin- 
20 


306  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1842. 

ions  from  all  those  who  witnessed  his  action  on  that 
great  theatre,  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  he  uni- 
formly declined  all  invitations  to  attend  meetings  which 
were  often  projected  for  the  purpose  of  affording  a  dem- 
onstration of  personal  regard  for  him.  We  notice, 
among  many  other  invitations,  all  of  which  he  declined 
to  accept,  that  of  James  W.  M'Keon  and  others,  being 
a  committee  of  tiie  democratic  young  men  of  the  city 
of  New  York,  inviting  him  to  accept  a  public  dinner  in 
that  city,  and  his  reply  declining  the  invitation.  That 
reply  is  so  fine  a  specimen  of  unaffected  modesty  as  to 
induce  a  wish  that  we  had  room  to  insert  it.  We  can, 
however,  only  copy  the  following  paragraphs : 

"I  find  myself,"  says  Mr.  Wright,  "compelled  to  ask 
to  be  excused  from  accepting  the  invitation  to  a  public 
dinner.  Various  reasons,  public  and  private,  make  this 
a  duty.  As  reasons  private  and  personal  to  myself,  I 
find  my  health  somewhat  impaired,  and  my  strength  ex- 
hausted by  the  long  and  tedious  confinement  we  have 
been  compelled  to  undergo  here,  from  the  spring  to  the 
fall,  in  this  warm  climate ;  and  never  have  I  felt  so 
strongly  the  necessity  of  mental  repose.  My  private 
duties,  too,  are  calling  me  to  my  home  with  unusual 
force,  and  forbid  any  delay  upon  my  journey  there, 
which  an  attention  to  those  duties  does  not  demand. 

"A  further  private  consideration  with  me  for  decli- 
ning your  invitation,  as  I  have  declined  all  similar  ones 
coming  from  my  democratic  constituents,  is  the  deep 
consciousness  I  cannot  fail  to  feel  that  I  have  already 
received  honors  and  advancements  from  them  far  be 
yond  any  to  which  my  humble  public  services  could  of 
right  have  laid  a  claim ;  and  that  it  is  rny  plain  duty 
rather  to  redouble  my  exertions  to  discharge  the  deep 


1842.]          WRIGHT'S  LETTER  TO  JUDGE  FINE.  307 

debt  of  obligations  now  resting  against  me,  than  to  ap- 
propriate to  myself  further  honors,  even  though  volun- 
tarily and  generously  tendered,  as  in  the  case  your  letter 
presents." 

He  then  proceeds  to  express,  with  great  frankness,  his 
views  on  the  great  questions  which  at  that  time  agita- 
ted the  public  mind. 

We  have  heretofore  stated  that  some  of  the  radical 
democrats  at  Albany,  during  the  session  of  the  legisla- 
ture, seemed  disinclined  to  favor  the  renomination  of 
Mr.  Bouck  for  governor,  but  previous  to  the  meeting  of 
the  state  convention,  information  from  the  country  con- 
vinced every  one  that  the  public  sentiment  in  his  favor 
was  too  strong  and  too  unanimous  to  be  resisted.  In 
the  state  convention,  therefore,  which  assembled  at  Sy- 
racuse on  the  7th  of  September,  scarcely  the  semblance 
of  opposition  was  perceptible.  Mr.  Wright  was  the  fa- 
vorite candidate  of  the  radicals  ;  but  some  time  before 
the  meeting  of  the  convention,  he  forwarded  from 
Washington  to  Judge  Fine,  who  was  a  delegate  from 
St.  Lawrence  county,  a  letter,  of  which  the  following  is 
a  copy,  peremptorily  declining  to  be  a  candidate  for  the 
office  of  governor  in  the  convention,  or  before  the 
people : 

"WASHINGTON,  Wth  July,  1842. 
"  MY  DEAR  JUDGE  : 

"  Your  most  acceptable  favor  of  the  25th  came  to  me 
this  morning.  I  thank  you  for  it,  and  most  especially 
for  your  frank,  practical,  and  friendly  views  as  to  my- 
self so  far  as  the  office  of  governor  is  concerned.  I  have 
been  repeatedly  addressed  upon  that  subject  during  onr 
session  bv  some  of  the  best  of  our  friends,  and  have  i:> 


308  POLITICAL,  HISTORY  Of  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

variably  told  them  I  could  not  be  a  candidate  for  that 
high  office.  Among  the  correspondents  who  have  called 
upon  me  in  relation  to  that  office,  is  my  old  and  faithful 
friend,  Hoffman,  and  to  him  I  gave  a  positive  denial, 
and  detailed  fully  the  reasons  upon  which  my  determi- 
nation rested.  I  rejoice  to  know  that  my  good  friends 
in  our  own  county  agree  with  me  in  the  conclusion  as 
to  what  is  my  duty  upon  this  point.  I  cannot  suppose, 
after  the  letters  I  have  written,  that  any  portion  of  our 
friends  will  think  of  using  my  name ;  but  if  that  should 
be  so,  I  would  prefer  that  the  delegates  from  our  own 
county  should  possess  the  evidence,  and  be  authorized  to 
speak  for  me  upon  this  point.  I  therefore  say  to  you, 
that  I  cannot  be  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  governor, 
and  wish  you  to  pronounce  this  conclusion,  if  my  name 
shall  be  proposed,  as  I  hope  and  believe  it  will  not  be. 
My  reasons  for  this  determination  would  fill  a  long  let- 
ter, though  I  believe  they  would  satisfy  any  friend  I 
have  if  I  could  give  them  ;  but  as  I  am  at  this  moment 
suffering  under  the  loss  of  a  most  favored  and  worthy 
sister,  the  news  of  whose  death  reached  me  by  the  mail 
of  yesterday,  I  am  sure  you  will  excuse  me  from  enter- 
ing upon  those  reasons  at  this  time,  as  well  as  from  a 
present  reply  to  the  other  portions  of  your  letter. 
"  Most  truly  yours, 

"  SILAS  WRIGHT,  JR. 
"Hon.  JOHN  FINE." 

The  following  is  the  brief  account  given  in  the  Alba- 
ny Argus  of  the  proceedings  of  the  convention  : 

"  The  convention  was  called  to  order  by  the  Hon.  John 
Fine  of  St.  Lawrence,  on  whose  motion  the  Hon.  Nicoll 
IT:t!>oy  of  Tompkins  was  chosen  president  pro  tern.,  and 


1842.]  SYRACUSE  CONVENTION.  309 

Amasa  J.  Parker,  of  Delaware,  and  Horatio  Ballard,  of 
Cortland,  secretaries. 

"  The  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose  reported 
the  following  as  the  officers  of  the  convention,  and  they 
were  chosen  accordingly,  viz  : — President :  Hon.  John 
Fine  of  St.  Lawrence. — Vice-Presidents  :  William  B. 
Maclay,  1st  district;  John  W.  Lawrence,  3d;. Martin 
Grover,  6th ;  Ambrose  Salisbury,  7th ;  E.  D.  Efner, 
8th.— Secretaries  :  H.  H.  Van  Dyck,  3d  district ;  Wil- 
liam F.  Allen,  5th. 

"  Proceeding  to  a  nomination  for  governor  and  lieuten- 
ant-governor, the  delegates,  as  the  counties  were  respec- 
tively called,  rose  and  openly  nominated  William  C. 
Bouck  and  Daniel  S.  Dickinson ;  and  they  were  nomi- 
nated with  entire  unanimity,  and  by  acclamation. 

"  An  address  and  resolutions  were  adopted. 

"The  convention  was  eloquently  addressed  by  the 
Hon.  R.  D.  Davis  of  Dutchess ;  and  all  the  proceedings 
were  witnessed  by  a  crowded  and  gratified  auditory. 

"  The  convention  completed  all  their  business,  and 
adjourned  in  the  afternoon. 

"  The  utmost  harmony  and  good  feeling  pervaded  the 
convention  ;  and  an  enthusiastic  spirit  is  abroad  that 
will  be  found  irresistible." 

Mr.  Dickinson  was  a  resident  of  Binghamton,  in  the 
county  of  Broome.  He  was  favorably  known  formerly 
as  an  active  and  energetic  member  of  the  legislature, 
and  as  an  ardent  and  efficient  supporter  of  the  New 
York  and  Erie  Railroad.  Thus  it  happened  that  the 
choice  fell  upon  men  intimately  associated  with  two 
great  interests  : — Mr.  Bouck,  from  his  long  and  ap- 
proved services,  was  a  favorite  of  those  more  imme- 
diately interested  in  our  canal  policy,  and  Mr.  Dickinson 


ulO  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

had  distinguished  himself  as  the  friend  of  the  great 
southwestern  railroad  improvement.  So  far  as  these 
interests  were  concerned,  the  ticket  was  a  strong  one. 

The  whig  state  convention  also  met  on  the  7th  of 
September.  Charles  H.  Carroll,  of  Livingston,  was 
chosen  president,  and  there  were  eight  vice-presidents 
and  four  secretaries  appointed. 

LUTHER  BRADISH,  the  late  lieutenant-governor,  was 
nominated  for  the  office  of  governor,  and  Gabriel  Fur- 
man  of  Kings  county,  for  that  of  lieutenant-governor. 
These  nominations  were  made  with  great  apparent  una- 
nimity. Certainly,  so  far  as  related  to  personal  worth,  both 
gentlemen  were  entitled  to  high  consideration.  Of  Mr. 
Bradish  we  have  frequently  spoken  ;  and  as  respects 
Mr.  Furman,  there  are  few  men  in  the  state  who  are 
more  highly  esteemed,  and  we  may  say  beloved,  by  his 
friends  and  acquaintance. 

Mr.  Collier,  the  late  comptroller,  had  been  spoken  of 
by  many  of  his  friends  as  a  suitable  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor, and  the  editor  of  the  Evening  Journal  says  the 
convention  would  have  unanimously  nominated  him  for 
lieutenant-governor  had  he  not  peremptorily  declined 
being  a  candidate. 

The  convention  nominated,  with  acclamation,  HENRY 
CLAY  for  the  next  president,  and  recommended  a  whig 
national  convention  to  assemble  at  Baltimore  for  the 
nomination  of  a  vice-president,  thereby  indicating  that 
public  opinion  had  settled  the  question  in  relation  to  the 
whig  candidate  for  the  presidency. 
•  The  leading  resolution,  as  respects  the  measures  of 
the  state,  adopted  by  the  convention,  condemned  in  a 
manner  the  most  spirited  the  state  tax  and  a  suspension 
of  the  public  works.  A  resolution  was  also  adopted  ap- 


1842.]  NOMINATIONS  IN  CAUCUS.  313 

instances,  view  persons  and  events  through  a  prejudiced  medium.  It  is 
proper  to  add,  that  we  have  ventured  to  publish  this  letter  without  con- 
sulting the  author. 

"  The  democratic  party  regained  its  ascendency  in  the  legislature  of  the 
state  in  the  fall  election  of  1841.  The  senate  was  composed  of  17  demo- 
crats and  15  whigs;  the  assembly  of  95  democrats  and  33  whigs.  The 
assembly  contained  nn  unusual  number  of  prominent  men  and  experienced 
legislators.  At  that  time  I  knew  but  little  about  the  politics  of  the  state, 
or  of  the  relationship  in  which  prominent  men  stood  with  respect  to  each 
other.  Whatever  private  jealousies  might  have  existed  at  that  time,  there 
was  no  defined  or  organized  division  in  the  democratic  ranks.  The  party 
never  stood  upon  stronger  ground.  The  whigs  were  overthrown  because 
they  had  lost  the  public  confidence  by  their  injudicious  and  extravagant 
policy.  The  only  exhibition  of  partisan  feeling  in  the  democratic  caucus 
was  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Flagg  and  others,  in  opposing  the  appointment 
of  Mr.  Beardsley  to  the  office  of  attorney-general.  This  occasioned  some 
feeling  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Beardsley's  friends,  as  that  gentleman  was  a 
member  of  the  state  cabinet  with  Mr.  Flagg  prior  to  1837,  and  went  out 
of  office  with  him  when  the  whigs  obtained  the  political  power  of  the 
state.  No  opposition  was  made  to  Mr.  Flagg's  reappoiutment ;  he  was 
unanimously  nominated  in  the  democratic  caucus  on  the  first  ballot.  The 
following  statement  of  the  balloting  for  the  other  state  officers  shows  there 
was  no  organized  division  in  the  democratic  ranks, — such  organizations 
usually  reducing  the  number  of  candidates  for  each  office  to  two: 

For  Secretary  of  State. 

1st  ballot.         2d  ballot.          3d  ballot 

Samuel  Young, 49  58 

Samuel  W.  Jones, 23  28 

Ebenezer  Mack, 19  13 

John  B.  Skinner, 13  7 

For  Attorney-general. 

George  P.  Barker, 26  37            68 

Samuel  Beardsley, 23  18               2 

Robert  H.  Morris, 22  34            35 

A.  J.  Parker, 10  8               1 

H.  L.  Hogeboom, 6  5 

F.  G.  Jewett, 8  4 

John  B.  Skinner, 10  1 

"  Thomas  Faniiijrtou  was  elected  State  Treasurer  over  three  competitors, 
and  Nathaniel  Jones  Surveyor-general,  over  six  other  candidates. 


314  POLITICAL  HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK.  [1842. 

"  The  great  measure  of  the  session  was  Mr.  Hoffman's  bill  in  relation  to 
the  finances.  The  condition  and  policy  of  the  state  was  discussed  with 
great  ability,  principally  by  Mr.  Hoffman,  who  was  the  leader  of  the 
house.  The  debates  upon  this  subject  will  show  the  considerations  which 
were  involved  hi  this  discussion.  Whatever  obscurity  there  may  be  about 
the  positions  held  by  parties  with  regard  to  our  internal  improvements 
prior  to  this  time,  there  was  none  at  this  session.  The  democratic  mem- 
bers were  in  favor  of  stopping  the  public  works,  and  of  imposing  a  tax  to 
restore  the  state  credit.  The  whigs  were  opposed  to  both  of  these  propo- 
sitions. They  believed  that  they  would  bo  so  unpopular  that  another  po- 
litical revolution  would  be  produced.  When  the  vote  was  taken  in  the 
committee  of  the  whole,  Mr.  Hunt,  a  whig  member,  moved  to  amend  the 
bill  by  inserting  a  provision  for  appropriations  for  the  unfinished  canals,  and 
also  to  strike  out  that  portion  of  the  bill  which  provided  for  the  imposition 
of  a  tax.  These  amendments  were  supported  by  all  the  whigs,  and  op- 
posed by  all  the  democrats.  These  amendments  were  substantially  re- 
newed in  the  senate  by  a  whig  member,  and  were  rejected  there  by  a 
similar  party  vote.  The  final  vote  on  the  bill  in  both  houses  was  of  the 
same  party  character.  To  the.  democratic  party,  therefore,  belongs  the 
credit  of  maintaining  at  this  crisis  the  faith  of  the  state,  and  of  setting  an 
example  worthy  of  her  position  to  other  and  defaulting  states,  by  boldly 
stopping  expenditures  and  imposing  a  tax  upon  the  people.  At  the  time 
this  was  regarded  as  a  hazardous  measure,  and  too  much  credit  cannot 
bo  awarded  to  Mr.  Hoffman  for  the  ability  and  courage  manifested  by  him 
in  its  support 

"  Messrs.  Hoffman,  Flagg,  Young,  and  Dix  were  opposed  to  the  re- 
nomination  of  Mr.  Bouck  at  the  state  convention  which  was  to  assemble 
in  the  autumn  of  that  year  at  Syracuse.  This  opposition  was  freely  ex- 
pressed in  conversation  during  the  session  of  the  legislature.  When  the 
convention  assembled  at  Syracuse,  it  was  found  there  was  a  decided  ma- 
jority for  Mr.  Bouck.  lu  the  election  of  1840.  he  had  run  ahead  of  his 
ticket,  which  circumstance  undoubtedly  contributed  to  his  strength  in  the 
state  convention.  The  published  proceedings  of  that  body  throw  but  little 
light  upon  the  position  of  parties,  as  an  informal  and  private  meeting  of 
the  delegates  was  held,  at  which  every  thing  was  determined.  There 
were  some  of  the  delegates  who  were  in  favor  of  nominating  Mr.  Wright 
at  that  time." 


1843.]  ELECTION   OF  SPEAKER  315 


CHAPTER  XII. 

George  R.  Davis  nominated  and  elected  Speaker — Governor's  Message — 
Gov.  Bouck's  Birth  and  Education — Lyman  Sanford  appointed  Adju- 
tant-general— Agitation  of  the  Presidential  Question  at  Washington — 
Proceedings  on  board  the  Brig  Somers,  and  death  of  Mr.  Philip  Spencer 
— South  Carolina  Legislature  nominate  Mr.  Calhoun  for  President — 
Character  of  the  State  Officers  in  1823 — Course  of  the  Governor— Con- 
test respecting  State  Printer— E.  Croswell,  H.  H.  Van  Dyck— E.  Cros- 
well  appointed  State  Printer— Albany  Atlas— Mr.  Wright  re-elected 
United  States  Senator — Mr.  Dickinson's  Resolution  in  relation  to  the 
conduct  of  Gov.  Bouck  as  Canal  Commissioner — The  distribution  of  the 
Books  containing  the  result  of  the  Geological  Survey — Young  and 
Dickinson— -Bill  for  abolishing  the  Office  of  Bank  Commissioner — Re- 
jection by  the  Senate  of  nominations  made  by  the  Governor. 

THE  legislature  assembled  on  the  third  day  of  Janua- 
ry, 1843,  and  on  the  evening  previous  a  caucus  was 
held  by  the  democratic  members  of  the  assembly,  for 
the  purpose  of  selecting  the  officers  of  that  house. 
George  R.  Davis,  of  Rensselaer  county,  the  same  gen- 
tleman who  in  1831  was  chosen  and  officiated  as  speak- 
er, was  unanimously  nominated  for  the  same  office  in 
the  caucus,  and  without  a  ballot ;  but  in  selecting  a  can- 
didate for  clerk,  there  appeared  to  be  some  difference  of 
opinion.  On  the  first  ballot  Henry  N.  Wales,  of  Albany, 
received  47  votes,  which  was  not  a  majority  of  all  the 
votes  cast.  On  the  second  ballot  William  W.  Dean,  of 
Otsego,  received  29  votes,  and  Mr.  Wales  53,  who  was 
thereupon  declared  duly  nominated. 

The  new  governor  began  his  message  by  declaring 
that  he  regarded  the  public  welfare  above  all  mere  par- 


316  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

ty  considerations.  "  If  I  do  not  very  much  mistake," 
says  the  governor,  "the  feelings  of  the  people,  they  de- 
sire repose  from  high  party  excitements,  and  exemption 
from  those  frequent  changes  in  public  measures  that 
affect  the  business  relations  of  the  country  ;  and  I  indulge 
the  confident  hope  that  the  legislature  will  co-operate 
with  me  in  acting  upon  the  principle  of  placing  the  pub- 
lic welfare  above  all  mere  party  considerations." 

As  respects  the  relations  of  the  states  with  the  gen- 
eral government,  the  governor  denounces  several  of  the 
late  acts  of  congress  as  unconstitutional  encroachments 
on  the  independence  of  the  states.  He  says : 

"  Within  the  last  two  years,  there  have,  in  my  judg- 
ment, been  several  unwarrantable  assumptions  of  power 
on  the  parf  of  the  federal  government.  The  right  to 
collect  money  from  the  people  in  any  form,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  distributing  the  same  among  the  states,  has  not 
been  delegated  to  the  general  government.  So  long  as 
the  whole  revenue  of  the  United  States  is  required  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  operations  of  the  gov- 
ernment, it  matters  not  what  particular  moneys  are 
taken  from  the  treasury  for  the  purpose  of  distribution. 
Whether  it  be  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  public 
lands,  or  the  same  amount  of  money  collected  from  im- 
posts, or  by  direct  taxation,  it  is  nothing  less  than  col- 
lecting money  from  the  people,  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
turning a  portion  of  it  to  them  in  another  form." 

He  also  complains  of  the  late  law  of  congress  requi- 
ring the  legislature  of  each  state  to  pass  laws  for  the 
election  of  members  of  the  United  States  house  of  rep- 
resentatives by  single  districts,  and  of  the  general  bank- 
rupt law.  He  intimates  an  opinion  that  that  part  of  the 
last-mentioned  statute  which  permits  a  bankrupt  to  be 


1843.]  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  317 

discharged  from  his  debts,  without  the  consent  of  his 
creditors,  is  unconstitutional.  While  the  governor,  with 
respect  to  the  subjects  just  alluded  to,  manifests  a  lauda- 
ble and  vigilant  care  for  the  preservation  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  states,  he  acquiesces  with  philosophical 
resignation  and  tokens  of  approbation  in  the  decision  ol 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  that  the  law 
of  this  state  which  secured  to  the  people  of  color  who 
claimed  the  right  guarantied  to  the  citizens  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  of  trial  by  a  jury  of  the  country,  when  their 
personal  liberty,  and  indeed  the  right  to  their  own  per- 
sons were  drawn  in  question,  was  unconstitutional  and 
void.  The  governor  therefore  recommends  the  repeal 
of  all  the  laws  of  this  state  which  afford  to  the  negro 
claimed  to  be  a  fugitive  from  service,  any  opportunity 
of  defending  himself  in  this  state  against  such  claim. 

On  the  subject  of  the  joint  resolution,  proposed  by  Mr. 
Strong,  which  Governor  Seward  refused  to  forward  to 
the  executive  of  Virginia,  as  related  in  the  last  chapter, 
Mr.  Bouck  says  : 

"  The  federal  constitution  has  also  provided,  that  '  a 
person  charged  in  any  state  with  treason,  felony,  or  other 
crime,  who  shall  flee  from  justice,  and  be  found  in  an- 
other state,  shall,  on  demand  of  the  executive  authority 
of  the  state  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be 
removed  to  the  state  having  jurisdiction  of  the  crime.' 
At  the  last  session  of  the  legislature,  a  concurrent  reso- 
lution was  adopted  by  the  two  houses,  declaring  '  that  in 
the  opinion  of  this  legislature,  stealing  a  slave  within  the 
jurisdiction  and  against  the  laws  of  Virginia,  is  a  crime 
within  the  meaning  of  the  second  section  of  the  fourth 
article  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.'  I  deem 
it  proper  to  say,  that  this  resolution  fully  accords  with 


318  J-CLIT1CAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

my  own  judgment.  Although  such  an  act  may  not  be 
forbidden  by  our  laws,  the  stealing  of  a  slave  has  been 
declared  to  be  a  crime  in  other  states ;  and  if  a  trans- 
gressor of  their  criminal  laws  flee  within  our  jurisdic- 
tion, we  are  bound  by  compact  not  to  screen  him." 

With  respect  to  internal  improvements,  the  governor 
said : 

"  I  recommend  to  your  careful  and  attentive  consider- 
ation the  subject  of  internal  improvements  by  roads  and 
canals,  which  are  eminently  calculated  to  aid  the  enter- 
prise and  promote  the  welfare  of  the  people.  There 
are  few  subjects  in  which  our  citizens  feel  a  deeper  in- 
terest, or  that  are  more  intimately  connected  with  the 
character  and  prosperity  of  the  state.  But  in  making 
this  suggestion,  I  must  not  be  understood  as  recom- 
mending extravagant  expenditures,  or  ill-advised  under- 
takings. The  system  should  have  for  its  object  the 
general  welfare,  and  as  far  as  may  be  practicable,  should 
be  based  on  an  equal  distribution  of  the  means  of  the 
state  for  such  purposes." 

He  states  that  the  loans  by  the  state  to  railroad  com- 
panies amounted  to  $5,235,700.  He  informed  the  legis- 
lature that  the  New  York  and  Erie  Railroad  company, 
to  whom  the  state  had  loaned  three  millions  of  dollars, 
and  the  Ithaca  and  Owego  and  Canajoharie  and  Catts- 
kill  companies,  had  failed  to  pay  the  interest  on  their 
loans  from  the  state  ;  that  in  consequence  of  this  de- 
fault "  the  two  latter  had  been  sold  at  auction,  and  that 
the  sale  of  the  former  was  postponed  till  the  first  Tues- 
day of  May  then  next." 

The  governor  rather  timidly  indicated,  that  in  his 
judgment  a  less  stringent  course  should  be  pursued  in 
regard  to  canal  expenditures,  especially  in  completing 


1843.]  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  310 

the  works  already  commenced,  than  was  authorized  by 
the  financial  act  of  1842.  He  says  : 

"  I  arn  convinced  that  the  completion  of  the  unfinish- 
ed work  at  the  Schoharie  creek,  at  Spraker's,  at  Cana- 
joharie,  Fort  Plain,  the  Indian  Castle  creek,  at  Syracuse, 
the  work  connected  with  the  reduction  of  the  Jordan 
level,  at  Macedon,  and  at  Lockport,  would  be  essen- 
tially useful,  and  some  of  it  may  be  indispensably  ne- 
cessary. 

"  The  speedy  completion  of  the  Black  River  Canal 
and  feeder  to  and  including  the  summit  level,  and  the 
Genesee  Valley  Canal,  as  far  as  the  first  feeder  from  the 
Genesee  river  south  of  Portage,  is  doubtless  anxiously 
desired  by  the  friends  of  these  improvements.  I  do  not 
feel  that  I  should  faithfully  discharge  my  duty  did  I  not 
recommend  for  your  careful  consideration  these  portions 
of  the  public  works.  This  should  of  course  be  done 
with  strict  reference  to  the  financial  condition  of  the 
state. 

"  The  present  low  prices  of  labor  and  provisions  are 
highly  favorable  to  a  successful  prosecution  of  the  works 
now  under  contract,  and  they  should  be  resumed  as  soon 
as  a  just  regard  to  the  public  welfare  will  permit.  But 
great  caution  should  be  observed  in  increasing  the 
state  debt,  already  too  large.  That  the  state  has  the 
ability  eventually  to  complete  all  her  works  which 
have  been  commenced,  cannot,  in  my  opinion,  be  ques- 
tioned." 

The  governor  states  the  public  debt,  exclusive  of  the 
available  means  in  the  hands  of  the  commissioners  of 
the  canal  fund,  to  be  $23,330,083.15.  He  also  states 
that  "  the  revenue  for  the  year  ending  the  30th  Septem- 
ber last,  has  been  material Iv  affected  bv  a  reduction  in 


320  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1843. 

canal  tolls,  and  in  the  auction  and  salt  duties,  as  com- 
pared with  the  preceding  year. 

"  The  tolls  are  less  by         -         -    $192,968  86 
"  The  auction  duties  are  less  by  6,417  59 

"  The  salt  duties          "         "      -         15,47235 


$214,858  80 

"  How  these  essential  items  of  revenue  are  to  be  af- 
fected by  the  business  of  the  current  year,  it  is  impos- 
sible now  to  say.  If  the  general  prosperity  of  the 
country  should  assume  a  more  favorable  aspect,  as  I 
trust  it  will,  it  would  favorably  affect  these  items  of  rev- 
enue. It  is  not  probable  that  the  receipts  from  these 
sources  will  be  diminished." 

The  event  showed  that  he  was  not  mistaken  in  the 
opinion  that  the  receipts  from  these  sources  would  not 
"be  diminished"  during  the  coming  year.  They  were 
considerably  increased. 

The  governor  states  that  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
more  especially  the  Court  of  Chancery,  are  overloaded 
with  business ;  that  the  labors  required  to  be  performed 
by  the  judges  of  these  courts  are  greater  than  it  is  pos- 
sible to  execute ;  that  an  increase  of  force  is  absolutely 
necessary ;  and  that  if  an  adequate  remedy  cannot  be 
provided  by  law,  an  amendment  to  the  constitution 
ought  to  be  proposed,  which  would  accomplish  an  ob- 
ject so  desirable  and  in  fact  indispensably  necessary. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  message  he  gives  in  a  con- 
densed form  some  interesting  statistics,  showing  the 
agricultural,  commercial,  and  manufacturing  condition 
and  resources  of  the  state.  He  says  : 

"  It  appears  by  the  last  census,  that  the  population  of 
the  United  States  amounts  to  17,068,666,  of  which  the 


18-43.]  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  321 

state  of  New  York  has  2,428,917,  equal  to  more  than 
one-eighth  of  the  whole  population. 

"  The  number  of  bushels  of  grain  raised  is  615,525,302, 
of  which  this  state  has  51,721,827,  equal  to  nearly  one- 
twelfth  part  of  the  whole. 

"  The  number  of  heads  of  live-stock  is  74,264,322, 
of  which  this  state  has  10,128,042,  equal  to  about  one- 
seventh  part. 

"The  number  of  pounds  of  wool  produced  is  35,802, 114, 
of  which  this  state  is  entitled  to  9,845,295,  equal  to  one- 
fourth. 

"  The  number  of  commercial  houses  engaged  in  the 
foreign  trade  is  1,108,  of  which  there  are  in  this  state 
469,  equal  to  something  less  than  one-half. 

"The  capital  invested  in  foreign  trade  is  $119,295,367, 
of  which  there  belongs  to  this  state  $49,583,001,  equal 
to  nearly  one-half. 

"  There  are  4,005  woollen  manufactories  of  all  kinds, 
of  which  there  are  in  this  state  1,213,  equal  to  more  than 
one-fourth. 

"  The  aggregate  value  of  woollen  goods  manufactured 
is  estimated  at  $20,696,999,  of  which  this  state  has 
$3,537,337,  equal  to  about  one-sixth  part. 

"In  the  manufacture  of  woollen  there  are  21,343  per- 
sons employed,  and  in  this  state  4,336,  equal  to  one-fifth. 

"The  capital  employed  is  $15,765,124,  and  in  this 
state  $3,469,349,  equal  to  more  than  one-fifth. 

"  The  value  of  cotton-manufactured  articles  is  esti- 
mated at  $46,350,453,  and  in  this  state  at  $3,640,237, 
equal  to  about  one-thirteenth  part. 

"  The  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  cotton  man- 
ufactories is  estimated   at  72,192,  and  in  this  state  at 
7,407,  equal  to  about  one-tenth. 
21 


322  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

"The  capital  employed  is  estimated  at  $51,102,359, 
of  which  this  state  has  $4,900,772,  equal  to  about  one- 
tenth." 

The  message,  as  a  whole,  is  a  good  one.  It  presents 
clearly  and  with  great  plainness,  the  condition  and  re- 
sources of  the  state,  and  invites  the  attention  of  the 
legislature  to  such  measures  as  the  public  interest  seemed 
to  require.  It  makes  no  attempt  at  display :  its  author 
does  not  appear  to  make  any  effort  to  divert  the  attention 
of  the  legislature  from  the  real  and  substantial  interest 
of  the  community  to  himself.  It  has  another  merit,  and 
that  is  its  brevity.  So  multifarious  are  the  concerns  of 
this  great  state,  that,  bating  a  few  paragraphs  in  the  first 
part  of  the  address,  which  seem  rather  calculated  for 
the  edification  of  the  people  who  reside  in  a  latitude 
south  of  the  state  of  New  York  than  of  those  who  reside 
in  it,  it  was  not  possible  to  make  it  more  brief. 

WILLIAM  C.  BOUCK  is  a  native  of  the  county  of  Scho- 
harie.  His  father  was  an  industrious  and  respectable 
farmer,  living  on  the  banks  of  the  Schoharie  creek.  The 
family  were  of  German  origin,  and  Gov.  Bouck  was 
brought  up  on  his  father's  farm,  and  accustomed  to  man- 
ual labor.  He  had  received  a  good  English  education, 
but  never  had  an  opportunity  of  acquiring  much  classi- 
cal learning.  The  counties  of  Schoharie  and  Otsego 
are  emphatically  interior  and  isolated  counties,  and  their 
inhabitants,  especially  the  agricultural  part  of  them, 
have  little  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  or  in- 
deed of  the  state  of  New  York.  This  was  the  condi- 
tion of  Mr.  Bouck  when  he  became  of  age.  But  his  native 
intellectual  powers  and  his  active  mind  soon  attracted  the 
attention  of  his  neighbors  and  fellow-citizens,  and  he 
was,  while  yet  young,  appointed  sheriff  of  the  county  <>1 


1843.]  WILLIAM    C.    BOUCK.  323 

Schoharie.  The  discharge  of  the  duties  of  that  office 
soon  made  him  known  throughout  the  county,  and 
wherever  he  was  known  he  was  esteemed  and  respect- 
ed. When  his  term  of  office  as  sheriff  expired,  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  assembly  of  this  state,  and  in 
1817  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  senators  from  what  was 
then  called  the  middle  district.  As  his  acquaintance 
extended,  his  reputation  for  capacity  and  integrity  in- 
creased, and  in  1821  he  was  appointed  by  the  legislature 
canal  commissioner,  an  office  the  duties  of  which  he  for 
many  years  discharged  with  great  fidelity,  and  in  a  man- 
ner creditable  to  himself  and  beneficial  and  satisfactory 
to  the  community.  His  conduct  as  canal  commissioner 
had  secured  him  many  ardent  and  zealous  friends,  con- 
sisting mainly  of  those  who  had  transacted  business  with 
him  in  his  official  capacity ;  and  to  the  number  and  influ- 
ence of  those  friends  he  was  undoubtedly  greatly  in- 
debted for  his  nomination  and  election  as  governor.  Mr. 
Bouck  was  the  first  and  only  governor  of  this  state  who 
had  not  been  bred  a  lawyer, — he  being  a  practical  farmer. 
That  Mr.  Bouck  possesses  a  large  share  of  good  sense, 
prudence,  and  discretion,  is  evident  to  all  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  him.  Indeed,  a  moment's  reflection  will 
convince  any  person  that  a  man  brought  up  in  an  inte- 
rior county,  in  a  secluded  neighborhood,  without  the 
benefit  of  a  liberal  education,  or  in  fact  much  reading, 
who  should  for  thirty  years,  without  the  aid  of  powerful 
friends  and  relatives,  continue  to  rise  from  one  grade  to 
another,  until,  by  the  voluntary  suffrages  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  he  should  become  governor  of  a  state  contain- 
ing nearly  three  millions  of  people,  must  not  only  have 
been  master  of  an  excellent  address,  but  have  possessed 
great  native  mental  power. 


324  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

But  when  Mr.  Bouck  reflected  that  he  then  was 
placed  in  a  seat  which  had  been  occupied  by  George 
Clinton,  John  Jay,  De  Witt  Clinton,  Martin  Van  Buren, 
William  L.  Marcy,  and  others,  the  most  accomplished 
scholars,  jurists,  and  statesmen  which  the  country  has 
produced,  and  considered  his  own  want  of  literary  attain- 
ments and  legal  knowledge,  a  circumstance  to  which  he 
modestly  alludes  in  the  message  we  have  been  review- 
ing, there  can  be  no  doubt  he  felt  some  embarrassment, 
and  that  that  embarrassment  produced  a  corresponding 
degree  of  timidity  and-  diffidence.  That  timidity  must 
have  been  increased  when  he  reflected  that  there  were 
several  men  around  him,  distinguished  members  of  his 
own  political  party,  who  were  critically  watching  all  his 
movements,  and  who,  if  they  had  not  opposed,  had  cer- 
tainly viewed  with  coldness,  his  nomination  by  a  major- 
ity of  the  democratic  party.  If  he  had  any  jealousy  in 
his  nature — if  he  was  in  the  least  constitutionally  sus- 
picious— the  situation  in  which  he  was  placed  was  cal- 
culated to  call  into  action  that  jealousy  and  awaken  sus- 
picion. There  was  another  circumstance  which  must 
have  rendered  his  position  unpleasant.  We  have  stated 
that  many  of  his  most  zealous  friends  resided  on  the 
borders  of  the  Erie,  and  we  may  add  on  the  Genesee 
Valley  and  Black  River  canals.  A  large  portion  of  those 
friends  were  dissatisfied  with  the  total  suspension  of  the 
public  works,  and  they  hoped,  and  probably  had  reason 
to  hope,  that  if  Mr.  Bouck  was  elected  governor,  those 
works  would  be  partially  resumed.  He  knew  that  a 
large  majority  of  the  democratic  party  were  opposed  to 
such  resumption.  But  could  he  entirely  thwart  the  ex- 
pectations of  his  warmest  and  most  devoted  friends,  with 
whose  wishes  undoubtedly  the  bias  of  his  own  mind  ac- 


1843.]  APPOINTMENT  OF  ADJUTANT-GENERAL.  325 

corded  ?  An  attentive  and  sagacious  reader  of  his  first 
message  cannot  fail  of  perceiving  that  in  writing  this 
message  these  conflicting  claims  upon  his  official  action 
pressed  upon  his  mind  with  deep  and  anxious  solici- 
tude. 

In  concluding  our  remarks  on  Gov.  Bouck,  it  is  in- 
cumbent on  us  to  mention  one  other  trait  in  his  charac- 
ter— a  trait  highly  estimable  in  that  of  private  citizens, 
and  not  less  commendable,  though  it  is  to  be  feared  more 
rare  in  men  possessing  power  and  patronage ;  we  mean 
fidelity  to  a  friend.  We  do  not  believe  that  man  ever 
lived  to  whom  Gov.  Bouck  professed  a  friendship  which 
he  did  not  feel.  He,  it  is  true,  may  have  held  out  en- 
couragements to  friends  of  advancements  and  patronage, 
which  the  want  of  power,  or  a  stern  political  necessity 
prevented  him  from  bestowing,  but  never  did  he,  in  our 
judgment,  misrepresent  his  real  intentions  and  feelings. 

We  have  dwelt  longer  on  the  position  of  Gov.  Bouck, 
when  he  commenced  his  administration,  than  we  other- 
wise should  have  done,  did  we  not  believe  that  it  had  a 
material  effect  in  producing  the  schism  which  soon  after 
occurred  in  the  democratic  party. 

The  whigs  were  fully  aware  of  all  this,  and  as  they 
approved  of  that  policy  which  they  believed  Mr.  Bouck 
was  inclined  to  adopt,  rather  than  that  of  the  radicals, 
their  attacks  upon  him  were  less  severe,  and  some  of 
them  seemed  inclined  to  pursue  towards  him  a  concilia- 
tory course.  Hence  the  movements  of  Gen.  Root  in 
the  senate,  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  session, 
indicated  more  of  a  friendly  than  a  hostile  intent. 

Immediately  on  his  accession  to  office,  the  governor 
appointed  Lyman  Sanford,  of  Schoharie  county,  adju- 
tant-general, and  David  Hamilton,  of  Albany  county, 


326  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YOEK.  [1843. 

William  H.  Brown,  of  Queens  county,  and  J.  W.  Nel- 
son, (son  of  Judge  Nelson,)  of  Otsego  county,  his  aids. 
G.  W.  Bouck,  a  very  worthy  young  man,  {son  of  the 
governor,)  was  appointed  military  secretary. 

The  only  office  worthy  of  the  name  of  office,  and  to 
which  a  salary  is  attached,  which  the  constitution  of 
1821  left  at  the  sole  disposal  of  the  governor,  was  that  of 
adjutant-general.  The  aids  and  military  secretary  are 
merely  nominal  and  complimentary  appointments. 

All  the  details  of  the  duty  of  the  governor  as  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  militia,  and  all  his  correspondence 
on  the  subject  of  the  militia,  are  performed  and  carried 
on  by  the  adjutant-general.  He  is  also  supposed  to  be, 
and  generally  is,  the  confidential  executive  officer  and 
friend  of  the  governor. 

The  appointment  of  aids  and  military  secretary  was 
undoubtedly  judicious,  and  was  well  received,  but  con- 
siderable discontent  was  felt  in  relation  to  the  selection 
of  the  person  whom  the  governor  had  chosen  for  adjutant- 
general. 

Mr.  Sanford  was  a  respectable  lawyer  and  citizen  of 
Schoharie,  but  he  was  the  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Bouck,  and 
there  were  many  influential  and  powerful  applicants  for 
the  office,  and  who,  of  course,  were  chagrined  at  their 
disappointment.  Among  others,  Mr.  Sherwood,  of  San- 
dy Hill,  a  young  man  already  distinguished  for  his  tal- 
ents as  a  writer,  and  his  activity  and  efficiency  as  a 
politician,  was  earnestly  pressed  on  the  governor  as  the 
most  suitable  candidate  for  the  office  ;  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  Mr.  Sanford  in  preference  to  him,  produced  dis- 
satisfaction. The  governor,  however,  gave  out  that 
Mr.  Sanford  would  not  consent  to  hold  the  office  long, 
(as  in  fact  he  did  not,)  and  that  his  appointment  was 


1843.]  MEETING  IN   PHILADELPHIA.  327 

temporary.  It  is  due  to  Mr.  Sherwood  to  say,  that  he 
afterwards,  as  a  member  of  the  assembly,  in  time  of 
need,  came  ardently  and  efficiently  to  the  support  of 
Gov.  Bouck  and  his  measures.  But  of  this  we  shall 
speak  more  hereafter. 

When  congress  convened  in  December,  1842,  the 
question,  who  should  be  nominated  by  the  democratic 
party  for  president,  was  thus  early  agitated,  and  although 
at  that  time  there  was  undoubtedly  a  majority,  and 
probably  a  large  majority,  in  favor  of  Mr.  Van  Buren, 
there  was  a  manifestation  of  some  opposition  to  him, 
and  the  names  of  other  candidates  were  mentioned. 

On  the  7th  of  January  of  this  year,  a  very  numerous 
meeting  was  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  of  persons 
friendly  "to  the  nomination  of  Martin  Van  Buren  for 
the  presidency,"  of  which  Henry  Horn  was  chosen 
president.  A  committee  in  behalf  of  the  meeting  had 
previously  invited  the  attendance  of  a  number  of  distin- 
guished gentlemen  from  abroad,  among  whom  were  Col. 
Benton,  of  Missouri,  and  Silas  Wright,  of  this  state.  To 
this  invitation  Col.  Benton  and  Mr.  Wright  replied,  de- 
clining the  invitation. 

The  reason  assigned  by  Mr.  Wright  for  declining  to 
attend  the  meeting,  was  one  which  only  a  delicate  and 
sensitive  mind  can  fully  appreciate.  He  thought  it 
wrong  for  him  to  attend  meetings  of  the  republicans  of 
states  other  than  his  own,  and  to  make  efforts  to  force 
the  preference  of  the  democrats  of  New  York  upon  those 
of  other  states.  The  letter  which  on  this  occasion  he 
addressed  to  the  Philadelphia  committee  evinces  such 
a  devotion  to  the  democratic  cause,  and  such  pure  and 
disinterested  friendship  towards  Mr.  Van  Buren,  that  we 
take  leave  to  present  it  entire  to  our  readers : 
22 


328  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

"  WASHINGTON,  Jan.  2d,  1843. 

"GENTLEMEN  : — I  have  your  favor  inviting  me,  on  be- 
half of  the  democratic  citizens  of  the  city  and  county  of 
Philadelphia,  who  are  friendly  to  the  selection  by  a  na- 
tional convention  of  Martin  Van  Buren  as  the  dem- 
ocratic candidate  for  the  next  presidential  term,  to  meet 
them  on  Saturday  evening  next,  to  celebrate  the  anni- 
versary of  the  battle  of  New  Orleans. 

"My  well-known  attachment  to,  and  confidence  in, 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  both  as  a  citizen  and  a  statesman,  must 
satisfy  you,  and  those  for  whom  you  act,  that  I  could 
not  but  take  pleasure  in  meeting  political  friends  of  a 
sister  state  who  appreciate  him  as  I  do  ;  nor  can  it  be 
necessary  for  me  to  say  that  I  entertain  the  same  pref- 
erence on  the  subject  of  the  next  democratic  nomina- 
tion for  the  presidency  which  is  expressed  in  your 
letter. 

"It  is  true  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  has  once  held  this 
high  office :  and  it  is  as  true,  as  I  believe,  that  while  in 
the  service  of  his  country  and  his  political  party,  in  that 
elevated  situation,  he  was  stricken  down  by  his  political 
opponents  solely  because  he  adhered,  with  a  devotion 
above  selfish  considerations,  to  the  most  cherished  and 
vital  principles  of  that  party.  This  I  believe  to  be,  at 
this  day,  the  deep  arid  settled  conviction  of  the  great 
body  of  the  democracy  of  the  country.  If,  then,  the 
great  principles  which  were  wounded  by  the  blows  aimed 
at  him,  and  which  were  arrested  by  his  fall,  are  again  to 
be  revived  and  put  in  practice  by  the  democracy ;  if  the 
sound  and  safe  policy  which  he  was  pursuing  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  country,  arid  which  was  overcome  in  his 
defeat,  is  again  to  be  adopted,  and  to  constitute  the  poli- 
cy of  the  next  democratic  administration,  it  seems  to 


1843.]  LETTER  OF  SILAS  WRIGHT.  329 

me  as  politic  as  just,  that  with  the  principles  and  the 
policy,  the  faithful  public  servant  who  fell  in  their  de- 
fence, should  also  be  taken  from  under  the  feet  of  the 
common  enemy  to  both,  and  be  permitted  to  triumph 
with  them. 

"  As  xa  mere  consideration  connected  with  Mr.  Van 
Buren  personally,  this  is  a  very  small  matter,  however 
sensibly  his  immediate  personal  friends  or  himself  may 
feel  it ;  as  the  political  fate  and  fortune  of  any  one  man, 
in  this  wide  country,  must  be  a  very  small  matter  in  it- 
self considered  ;  but  to  the  integrity  and  strength,  and 
permanent  ascendency  of  the  great  democratic  party,  it 
presents  itself  to  my  mind  with  enlarged  importance. 
It  may  be  to  determine  whether  he,  who,  bearing  in  his 
hands  the  highest  political  trust  of  that  party,  shall  wise- 
ly, and  firmly,  and  patriotically  adhere  to  its  dearest 
principles,  and  fall  in  their  defence,  is  to  be  raised  again 
with  the  returning  power  of  the  party,  or  is  to  be  left 
wounded  upon  the  field,  after  the  enemy  is  driven  back. 
It  may  be  to  present  to  the  minds  of  all  future  republi- 
can presidents  the  question,  whether  they  shall  practise 
fidelity  to  the  party  and  its  principles,  at  the  hazard  of 
their  station,  with  a  safe  reliance  upon  its  justice  when 
it  shall  have  the  power,  or,  whether  they  shall  yield  be- 
fore a  powerful  political  counter-current,  and  save  their 
places  rather  than  their  principles." 

In  the  latter  clause  of  the  last  sentence  the  action  of 
the  Baltimore  convention  in  1844,  seems  to  be  dimly 
shadowed  forth.  Mr.  Wright  proceeds  : 

"  In  making  these  remarks,  I  am  sure  I  shall  not  be 
suspected  of  a  design  to  disparage  any  of  the  distin- 
guished competitors  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  for  this  high  dis- 
til ction.  With  all  of  those  gentlemen,  so  far  as  I  know 


330  POLITICAL  HISTORY'  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1843. 

who  they  are,  my  relations,  personal  and  political,  are 
entirely  friendly  ;  and  if  I  know  myself,  I  would  not  do 
towards  either  of  them  an  act  of  injury  or  injustice. 
They  have  all  fearlessly  and  ably  sustained  Mr.  Van 
Buren  as  president,  the  principles  and  policy  of  his  ad- 
ministration, and  himself  as  a  candidate  for  re-election. 
If  no  higher  motive  impelled  me,  my  appreciation  of  him 
as  a  statesman  and  a  man  would  entitle  them  to  my 
gratitude  for  these  public  acts. 

"  If,  then,  I  shall  seem  to  interfere  with  their  claims 
upon  the  country  and  our  party,  in  this  expression  of  my 
preferences  for  him,  I  can  only  reply,  that  the  friend 
who  seems  to  me  to  have  received  the  deepest  wounds 
in  the  common  cause,  is  the  one  who  commands  my 
first  attention  ;  and,  believing  that  friend  equal  to  the 
others,  both  in  power  and  disposition  to  sustain  our  com- 
mon principles  and  serve  our  common  country,  he  is  my 
preference. 

"  If,  in  all  this,  personal  attachments,  more  than  pa- 
triotic considerations,  have  controlled  my  choice,  I  am 
sure  I  may  be  permitted  to  say,  that  I  am  not  aware  of 
the  fact,  as  I  do  not  know  that  I  am,  or  ever  have  been, 
indebted  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  beyond  the  obligations 
which  his  personal  and  political  friendship  have  im- 
posed ;  and  those  obligations,  whatever  they  may  be, 
have  had  no  apparent  existence  on  his  part,  in  all  our 
personal  and  political  acquaintance. 

"  I  am,  however,  gentlemen,  protracting  my  remarks 
upon  this  point  altogether  beyond  my  intention,  and  per- 
haps subjecting  myself  at  least  to  the  suspicion  of  that 
influence  I  seek  to  avoid  ;  I  will  conclude,  therefore,  by 
saying,  I  have  not  a  doubt  that,  in  pronouncing  my  own 
preference  as  to  this  nomination,  I  speak  the  feelings  oi 


1843.]  THE  BIIIG  SOMERS.  331 

the  great  mass  of  the  democracy  of  my  state.  So  far 
us  my  information  enables  me  to  form  an  opinion,  that 
is  so.  Still  I  should  not  feel  at  liberty  to  attend  meet- 
ings of  the  republicans  of  other  states,  to  attempt,  by  any 
efforts  of  mine,  to  force  the  preferences  of  the  republi- 
cans of  New  York  upon  them,  so  far  as  a  nomination  to 
office  is  concerned,  and  when  those  preferences  are  in 
favor  of  a  fellow-citizen  of  the  state,  and  subject  to  the 
suspicion  of  local  or  personal  partialities. 

"  In  so  far  as  your  meeting  has  for  its  object  the  cele- 
bration of  an  anniversary  among  the  proudest  in  our  na- 
tion's history,  it  would  afford  me  the  highest  pleasure  to 
unite  with  you  ;  but  I  am  sure  you,  and  those  for  whom 
you  act,  will  accord  to  me  a  better  discharge  of  my  du- 
ty if  I  remain  at  my  place  here,  and  urge  my  humble 
efforts  to  refund  to  him  whose  conduct  and  courage  gave 
the  anniversary  to  his  country,  the  fine  imposed  upon 
him  for  the  act. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen,  with  great  respect, 
"  Your  fellow-citizen, 

"  SILAS  WRIGHT,  JE. 

"  To  the  Committee,"  &c. 

In  examining  the  files  of  newspapers  published  during 
the  month  of  January,  our  attention  has  been  arrested 
by  an  event  which  took  place  on  board  the  brig-of-war 
Somers,  on  the  first  day  of  the  preceding  month.  On 
that  day  Mr.  Philip  Spencer,  aged  19  years,  belonging 
to  one  of  the  most  distinguished  families  in  the  state  of 
New  York,  together  with  two  other  persons,  Cromwell 
and  Small,  were  executed  on  board  the  Somers  for  an 
alleged  charge  of  mutiny.  The  transaction,  we  are 
uware,  does  not  strictly  belong  to  the  political  history  of 


332  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

New  York,  but  as  the  case  presents  some  extraordinary 
features,  and  excited  deeply,  at  the  time,  the  profound 
sympathy  and  most  intense  feeling  of  this  whole  com- 
munity, we  hope  we  may  be  excused  for  noticing  it. 
We  do  not  propose  to  give  the  history  of  the  case  ;  that 
has  been  written  by  James  Fennimore  Cooper,  in  a  work 
entitled,  "  Proceedings  of  the  Naval  Court-Martial  in 
the  case  of  Alexander  Slidell  Mackenzie,"  to  which  the 
reader  is  referred. 

We  will,  however,  state  briefly,  that  the  Somers  sailed 
from  the  African  coast  on  the  llth  of  November,  1842, 
under  the  command  of  Mr.  Mackenzie,  for  the  United 
States,  by  the  way  of  St.  Thomas.  On  the  26th  day  of 
November,  and  while  on  the  passage,  Lieut.  Gansevoort 
communicated  to  Commander  Mackenzie  what  he  sup- 
posed to  be  a  mutinous  plot,  contrived  by  young  Spencer, 
to  obtain  by  force  the  control  of  the  vessel,  and,  of 
course,  to  subdue  or  kill  all  such  as  opposed  the  execu- 
tion of  the  project.  On  the  same  evening,  Spencer  was 
arrested  and  put  in  irons ;  and  on  the  following  day, 
Samuel  Cromwell,  boatswain's  mate,  and  Elisha  Small, 
seaman,  were  also  seized  and  put  in  irons.  We  extract 
from  the  Madisonian,  a  Washington  paper,  the  following 
summary  statement  of  what  followed  : 

"  That  no  disorder  of  a  mutinous  character  appeared 
among  the  crew  for  the  four  succeeding  days :  that  the 
vessel  was  going  with  good  breezes  and  in  good  weather 
towards  the  island  of  St.  Thomas," where  she  actually 
arrived  and  took  in  supplies  on  some  day  between  the 
1st  and  5th  of  December. 

"  That  on  the  30th  of  November,  the  opinion  of  the 
officers  was  required  by  Commander  Mackenzie  as  to 
the  disposition  of  the  prisoners  :  that  they  appear  to 


1843.]  THE  BRIG  SOMERS.  333 

have  examined  thirteen  seamen  as  witnesses  to  prove 
the  alleged  mutiny,  (and  who  are  therefore  supposed  in- 
nocent of  any  participation  in  it,)  which  examination 
was  had,  so  far  as  the  papers  show,  in  the  absence  of  the 
prisoners,  and  without  giving  them  any  opportunity  to 
cross-examine  the  witnesses,  or  to  make  any  explana- 
tions or  defence,  or  to  procure  any  testimony  in  their 
own  behalf.  These  officers,  without  even  the  form  of  a 
court,  without  the  obligation  of  an  oath,  and  upon  this 
ex-parte  secret  information,  united  in  the  opinion  that 
the  safety  of  the  vessel  required  that  the  prisoners  should 
be  put  to  death!  How  far  this  recommendation  was 
influenced  by  the  acts  or  the  fears  of  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
does  not  appear. 

"  That  on  the  1st  of  December,  when  everything  and 
person  on  board  the  vessel  were  perfectly  quiet,  after 
four  days  of  entire  security,  the  three  persons  were,  by 
the  order  of  Mackenzie,  hung  at  the  yard-arm  at  mid- 
day." 

Mackenzie  was  afterwards  tried  by  a  court-martial, 
which  convened  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  acquit- 
ted. How  the  court  could  have  arrived  at  such  a  con- 
clusion is  to  us  really  surprising. 

We  have,  some  time  ago,  read  over  the  evidence  given 
by  Mr.  Mackenzie  on  the  trial.  There  was,  it  is  true, 
some  testimony  given  by  one  Wales,  a  suspicious  wit- 
ness, which,  if  true,  proved  an  intention  on  the  part  of 
Spencer  to  mutinize  ;  but  against  one  of  the  others  who 
was  executed,  there  was  not  a  particle  of  evidence  even 
of  an  intended  mutiny.  It  is  very  probable  that  Spencer- 
then  not  nineteen  years  old,  may  have  formed  some 
boyish  and  visionary  notions  of  getting  the  control  of  the 
ship ;  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  some  three  or  four  of 


334  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

his  companions  may  have  agreed  to  join  him  in  the  en- 
terprise; but  with  the  exception  of  the  deposition  of  Wales, 
already  alluded  to,  there  was  not  another  word  of  testi- 
mony against  any  of  the  three  unfortunate  persons  whose 
lives  were  taken,  which  could  have  been  given  in  evi- 
dence against  them  in  any  court  of  justice  in  England 
or  America.  There  was  not  even  a  pretence  that  any 
overt  act  of  mutiny  had  been  committed.  Mackenzie, 
in  his  communication  to  the  navy  department,  does  in- 
deed say  that  Cromwell  "  looked"  very  resolute  and  de- 
termined. The  accused,  on  a  question  of  life  and  death, 
were  not  permitted  to  see  their  accusers,  or  cross-exam- 
ine the  witnesses  who  testified  against  them  !  There 
was  no  legal  court-martial ;  and  even  had  there  been, 
the  laws  of  congress  forbid  the  taking  of  human  life  by 
the  sentence  of  a  court-martial  before  which  all  the  par- 
ties are  heard,  without  the  sanction  of  the  president  of 
the  United  States,  or  if  without  the  United  States,  of  the 
commander  of  the  fleet  or  squadron. 

The  excuse  of  Mackenzie  was  a  pretence  that  there 
was  reason  to  believe  the  mutiny  would  have  been  suc- 
cessfully executed  before  they  could  get  into  port,  and 
that  the  slaughter  of  these  men  was  done  in  self-defence. 
The  excuse  is  absurd  and  ridiculous.  When  the  execu- 
tion took  place,  they  were  within  two  days'  sail  of  St. 
Thomas,  and  they  actually  arrived  there  a  day  or  two 
afterwards.  With  the  then  pretended  ringleaders  in 
irons,  and  all  communication  between  them  and  the 
crew  prohibited,  how  could  Mackenzie  have  the  face  to 
say,  that  he  had  not  sufficient  influence  over  his  men  to 
get  the  ship  into  port,  when  he  had  sufficient  control 
over  them  to  induce  them,  at  his  bidding,  to  hang  three 
of  their  comrades  ?  There  is  no  escape  from  the  conclu- 


1843.J  LEGISLATURE  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  335 

sion,  that  it  was  a  cowardly  act  of  homicide,  perpetrated 
under  color  of  military  authority.  Posterity  will  so  re- 
gard it,  and  history  ought  so  to  record  it. 

Mr.  Mackenzie,  in  his  communication  to  the  secretary 
of  the  navy,  giving  an  account  of  this  transaction,  has 
the  unparalleled  effrontery  to  say  : 

"  If  I  shall  be  deemed  by  the  navy  department  to  have 
any  merit  in  preserving  the  Somers  from  those  treason- 
able toils  by  which  she  had  been  surrounded,  since  and 
before  her  departure  from  the  United  States,  I  respect- 
fully request  that  it  may  accrue,  without  reservation,  to 
the  benefit  of  Nephew  O.  H.  Perry,  now  clerk  on  board 
the  Somers,  and  that  his  name  may  be  placed  on  the 
register,  in  the  number  left  vacant  by  the  treason  of  Mr. 
Spencer." 

While  speaking  of  occurrences  which  happened  in 
the  United  States,  other  than  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
it  may  be  proper  to  notice  that  the  legislature  of  South 
Carolina,  in  the  month  of  December,  nominated  Mr.  Cal- 
houn  as  a  candidate  for  the  next  president.  In  their 
preamble  they  say  "  they  look  forward  with  sanguine 
expectation  to  the  triumph  of  the  democratic  party ;  but 
they  believe  it  is  essential  to  the  ensuring,  as  it  is  to  the 
value  of  such  a  triumph,  that  the  candidate  of  the  party 
should  be  clearly  identified  with  the  principles  to  which 
they  stand  so  distinctly  pledged,  and  should,  if  elected, 
rest  his  administration  of  the  government  upon  the  broad 
basis  of '  Free  Trade — Low  Duties — No  Debt — No  con- 
nection with  Banks — Economy — Retrenchment — and  a 
strict  adherence  to  the  Constitution ;'  "  and  they,  there- 
fore, 

"Resolved,  by  the  senate  and  house  of  representa- 
tives, in  general  assembly  met,  That  in  consideration  of 


336  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

the  long  and  faithful  services,  the  unsullied  private  honor, 
the  political  integrity,  distinguished  abilities,  fearless  vir- 
tue, and  sound  constitutional  principles  of  their  fellow- 
citizen,  JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN,  they  do  hereby  nom- 
inate and  recommend  him  to  the  American  people 
for  election  to  the  office  of  president  of  the  United 
States." 

It  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  this  movement  in 
the  legislature  of  South  Carolina  at  that  early  day,  had 
some  agency  in  influencing  the  result  of  the  Baltimore 
Convention  in  181:. 

No  material  alterations  were  made  in  the  New  York 
legislature,  as  respects  the  committees  of  the  two  houses, 
except  those  caused  by  the  election  of  new  members,  in 
lieu  of  those  of  last  year.  Mr.  Hoffman  not  having 
been  a  candidate,  and  of  course  not  having  been  re- 
elected,  Mr.  Allen  of  Oswego  was  appointed  to  supply 
his  place  as  chairman  of  the  committee  of  ways  and 
means  in  the  assembly. 

The  state  officers, — consisting  of  Samuel  Young, 
secretary  of  state  ;  A.  C.  Flagg,  comptroller  ;  George 
P.  Barker,  attorney-general ;  Thomas  Farrington,  treas- 
urer ;  and  Mr.  Jones,  the  surveyor-general, — were  all 
of  them  radical  in  their  political  views,  and  warmly  in 
favor  of  the  financial  act  of  1842.  Besides,  as  we 
have  before  remarked,  if  not  opposed  to  the  nomination 
of  Mr.  Bouck,  they  at  least  acquiesced  in  it  with  cold- 
ness and  some  reluctance.  From  their  standing  and 
talents  they  possessed  great  influence  in  the  legislature, 
and  over  the  minds  of  the  masses  of  the  democratic 
party.  Of  Col.  Young,  we  need  not  speak  ;  he  had  been 
long  known  and  acknowledged  as  a  man  of  pre-eminent 
talents  and  strict  integrity.  Of  the  traits  in  his  charac- 


1843.]  STATE    OFFICERS.  387 

ter,  which  impaired  his  influence  in  public  life,  we  have 
spoken  in  another  place. 

Of  Mr.  Flagg,  too,  we  have  spoken  in  a  preceding 
volume  of  this  work.  To  his  superior  talents  as  a  finan- 
cier, and  his  conceded  fidelity  and  honesty  as  a  public  offi- 
cer, were  added  great  native  sagacity  and  shrewdness,  a 
knowledge  of  the  human  heart  which  would  seldom  ren- 
der him  liable  to  deception  by  false  pretences,  however 
plausible,  great  industry,  and  indomitable  perseverance  in 
carrying  into  effect  his  views.  These  qualities  had  been 
ripened  and  improved  by  long  experience  in  public  life, 
and  an  extensive  acquaintance  throughout  the  state,  and 
more  especially  with  the  efficient  men  belonging  to  the 
political  party  to  which  he  was  attached.  An  able  cor- 
respondent, who  for  several  years  was  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  legislature,  and  who  belongs  to  the 
hunker  section  of  the  democratic  party,  in  a  letter  re- 
cently written,  speaks  thus  of  Mr.  Flagg: 

"  The  simplicity  of  his  habits,  his  devotion  to  the  du- 
ties of  his  office,  and  the  fact  that  he  has  not  acquired 
wealth  in  his  official  station,  give  him  the  confidence  of 
the  public.  These  qualities  render  him  an  able  party 
leader,  and  he  was  unquestionably  the  ablest  man  of  the 
interest  [the  radical  interest]  to  which  he  was  attached. 
He  rallied  his  friends  after  their  defeat,  and  he  always 
constituted  the  strong  point  of  that  section,  and  gave  it 
the  principal  portion  of  the  public  confidence  that  it  ever 
enjoyed.  He  entered  deeply  into  the  controversies  of 
the  democratic  party,  and  in  exercising  the  power  of  ap- 
pointment as  a  member  of  the  canal  board,  he  was  never 
disposed  to  compromise  or  conciliate." 

Of  GEORGE  P.  BARKER,  the  same  correspondent  says: 
"  He  was  an  eloquent  and  brilliant  man.  He  was  of  ah 
22 


338  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

impulsive  temperament,  and  possessed  very  popular 
manners.  His  disposition  was  too  ductile  and  yielding 
for  consistency  or  firmness."  To  this  we  can  add,  that 
his  "  impulses"  were  always  of  the  most  kind  and  gen- 
erous character.  His  heart  overflowed  with  benevo- 
lence to  all  men,  and  he  was  beloved  by  all.  Alas  !  he 
has  now  gone  to  the  grave.  We  do  not  believe  the  man 
is  now  living  who  will  acknowledge  himself  to  have 
been  personally  unfriendly  to  George  P.  Barker. 

Mr.  Farrington  was  mild  and  conciliatory  in  his  dis- 
position and  deportment.  He  possessed  a  well-cultiva- 
ted mind  and  respectable  talents. 

We  have  little  personal  knowledge  of  the  surveyor- 
general,  Mr.  Jones,  but  all  we  do  know  of  him  is  favor- 
able to  his  head  and  heart. 

With  men  of  such  talent,  weight  of  character,  and 
political  influence,  comprising  in  theory  a  part  of  the 
state  administration,  who  looked  upon  him  with  cold- 
ness, the  situation  of  Mr.  Bouck  may  well  be  considered 
as  having  been  any  thing  but  that  of  ease  and  quiet. 

The  state  officers,  as  we  are  assured  by  a  gentleman 
intimate  with  them  all,  doubted  whether  the  governor 
really  and  cordially  approved  of  Mr.  Hoffman's  act  of 
1842  ;  and  his  message  on  that  subject  was  not  satisfac- 
tory to  them,  nor,  as  our  correspondent  says,  to  those 
"  who,  in  1840,  '41,  and  '42,  had  occupied  the  front  of 
the  battle  against  the  continuation  of  expenditures  for 
the  extension  of  internal  improvements,  but,"  he  adds, 
"  they  remained  inactive." 

By  some  means  it  came  to  be  understood,  at  the  very 
commencement  of  Mr.  Bouck's  administration,  that  a  por- 
tion of  the  democratic  party  were  opposed  to  him.  This 
portion  was  understood  as  acting  under  the  advisement  of 


1843.]  APPOINTMENTS    TO    OFFICE.  339 

the  state  officers.  Whether  such  was  the  fact,  \ve  do  not 
know  ;  but  we  do  know  it  was  so  reported,  and  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  Gov.  Bouck  gave  some  credit  to 
the  rumor.  No  doubt  some  of  the  applicants  for  office 
encouraged  this  notion,  and  were  careful  to  represent 
themselves  as  friends  to  the  governor  par  excellence. 
If  this  disaffection  was  at  first  ideal,  it  soon  became  real, 
and  began  to  be  recognised.  The  governor,  however, 
attempted  to  conciliate  ;  and  with  that  view  generally 
made  his  appointments  from  candidates  recommended 
by  county  conventions,  or  by  members  of  the  legisla- 
ture from  the  respective  counties  where  the  applicants 
resided.  By  adopting  this  course,  he  appointed  nearly 
or  perhaps  quite  as  many  of  those  who  were  called  his 
opponents  as  of  those  who  were  known  to  be  his  friends. 
In  this  way  the  governor  surrendered  to  irresponsible 
county  conventions,  and  to  members  of  the  legislature, 
that  patronage  with  which  the  constitution  had  invested 
him.  He  nevertheless  was  held  responsible  by  his  friends 
for  appointing  those  they  called  his  enemies. 

We  have  never  known  this  temporizing  policy  pur- 
sued with  success.  We  like  much  better  the  course 
which  our  correspondent  says  Mr.  Flagg  pursued  in  the 
canal  board.  The  governor  should  either  in  all  his  con- 
versations and  intercourse  have  repudiated  the  insinua- 
tions that  the  state  officers  and  their  friends  were  opposed 
to  him,  and  waged  war  against  the  men  who  persisted 
in  asserting  that  such  was  the  fact ;  or  he  should  have 
declared  war  against  the  state  officers,  and  wielded  his 
patronage  accordingly.  With  such  veteran  political 
partisans  he  should  have  seen  no  middle  course  could  be 
taken.  We  hope  our  readers  will  bear  in  mind  that  we 
now  speak  of  party  policy  only. 


340  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   VORK.  [1843. 

But  the  controversy  which  grew  out  of  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  state  printer  as  the  successor  of  Mr.  Weed, 
whom  it  was  determined  to  remove,*  produced  the 
sharpest  collisions,  and  probably  had  more  effect  in  cre- 
ating and  perpetuating  the  difference  between  the  two 
sections  of  the  democratic  party,  and  attracted  more 
the  attention  of  the  legislature  and  of  the  public,  than 
any  other  occurrence,  during  the  year  1843. 

Mr.  Edwin  Croswell.  who  was  regularly  educated  to 
the  printing  business  in  Cattskill,  had  been  printer  to  the 
state  since  the  year  1823.  He  was  removed  by  the 
whigs  in  1840,  and  Mr.  Thurlow  Weed  appointed  in  his 
place.  Of  Mr.  Croswell's  talents  as  an  editor,  of  his 
skill  as  a  political  tactician,  and  of  his  fidelity  as  the  or- 
gan of  the  party,  whose  objects  and  doctrines  his  paper 
professed  to  support,  we  have  spoken  in  a  preceding 
volume  ;f  to  which  we  will  only  add,  that  seven  years' 
subsequent  attention  to  his  course  as  an  editor  of  a  po- 
litical paper,  has  only  served  to  convince  us  of  the  truth 
of  what  we  then  said  of  him.  We  will  not  retract  a 
single  word  from  the  remarks  we  then  made ;  on  the 
contrary,  we  think  he  has  developed  new  powers,  and 
earned  additional  laurels,  as  a  member  of  the  editorial 
corps,  and  as  a  profound  and  skilful  political  and  party 
manager.  Some  dozen  or  fourteen  years  before  the 
period  of  which  we  are  now  writing,  he  had  connected 
with  him  in  his  business  the  son  of  his  uncle,  the  Rev. 
Henry  Croswell,  now  of  New  Haven,  and  formerly  the 
celebrated  editor  of  the  "  Balance,"  printed  at  Hudson, 


*  Solely  for  party  reasons. 

t  Spp  2  Political  History,  pp.  12K  122. 


1842.]  STATE    PRINTER.  341 

and  afterwards  of  the  "  Balance  and  New  York  Jour- 
nal," printed  at  Albany. 

In  the  year  1839  or  1840,  the  elder  and  younger  Cros- 
wells  had  taken  in  connection  with  them  in  business,  and 
in  conducting  the  Albany  Argus,  Mr.  Henry  H.  Van 
Dyck,  who,  after  having  for  some  time  published  and 
conducted  a  democratic  paper  in  the  county  of  Orange, 
was  elected  in  1836  to  the  senate  of  this  state,  and  in 
that  capacity  had  acquired  a  standing,  highly  respecta- 
ble in  the  political  party  to  which  he  belonged,  and  with 
the  New  York  public  in  general. 

The  people  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  particu- 
larly those  of  them  who  belong  to  the  democratic  party, 
are  partial  to  a  rotation  in  office.  They  believe  that 
no  one  citizen  to  the  exclusion  of  others  ought  for  any 
considerable  time  to  enjoy  the  emoluments  of  office. 
Perhaps  their  notions  in  this  respect  are  carried  too  far, 
and  that  in  their  zeal  for  an  equal  distribution  of  the 
honors  and  emoluments  of  office,  they  do  not  sufficiently 
consider  that  the  office  is  created  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public,  and  not  for  that  of  the  incumbent.  However  this 
may  be,  it  is  certain  that  as  soon  as  it  was  ascertained 
that  the  democratic  party  possessed  the  power  of  dis- 
placing Mr.  Weed,  it  was  made  a  subject  of  general 
remark  that  Mr.  Croswell  had  received  more  than  his 
share  of  the  public  patronage,  and  that  the  state  print- 
ing ought  to  be  given  to  some  other  person.  Rumors 
also  were  afloat  that  Mr.  Croswell  had  accumulated 
great  wealth,  the  magnitude  of  which  no  doubt  was 
exaggerated,  by  means  of  the  patronage  bestowed  on 
him  by  the  democratic  party  ;  and  these  rumors  led  the 
minds  of  many  to  the  conclusion  that  he  ought  in  fu- 
ture to  be  excluded  from  the  public  crib,  and  that  some 


342  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

other  person,  equally  talented  and  deserving,  should  be 
substituted  in  his  place ;  but  we  are  not  aware  that  au\ 
specific  charge  was  made  against  him,  either  as  a  public- 
officer  or  as  a  party  editor. 

The  state  officers  were  in  favor  of  a  change  of  the 
state  printer ;  for  what  particular  reason,  other  than  the 
one  we  have  just  mentioned,  we  are  not  informed.  Mr. 
Croswell  had,  if  we  rightly  recollect,  supported  the  act 
of  1842,  in  good  faith  and  with  his  usual  ability,  and 
Mr.  Flagg  had  been  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  him,  and 
had  for  a  year  or  two  been  jointly  with  him  editor  of 
the  ROUGH  HEWER,  a  radical  weekly  paper,  published  in 
connection  with  the  Daily  Argus. 

It  might  have  been  more  judicious  in  Mr.  Croswell, 
and  better  for  him — certainly  it  would  have  been  more 
for  his  peace  and  quiet — had  he  yielded  to  the  public 
sentiment  in  favor  of  rotation  in  office,  and  of  "  new 
men,"  (out  of  which  he  afterwards  made  so  much,)  and, 
as  Mr.  Weed  has  since  done  under  circumstances 
somewhat  similar,  determined,  and  publicly  declared 
his  determination,  to  surrender  all  claims  to  the  state 
printing  ;  but,  as  he  did  not  choose  to  do  so,  it  seemed 
to  us  at  the  time,  and  we  still  think  that  the  state  offi- 
cers, as  a  matter  of  policy,  were  injudicious  in  waging 
a  war  against  him.  They  did,  however,  oppose  his  re- 
appointment,  and  in  that  opposition  they  were  joined  by 
the  greater  part  of  the  radical  members  of  the  legisla- 
ture. This  course  threw  Mr.  Croswell  among  those 
who  were  understood  to  be  more  particularly  friendly 
to  Gov.  Bouck,  and  more  liberally  inclined  to  encour- 
age expenditures  for  internal  improvements,  and  who 
were  afterwards,  or  about  that  time,  denominated  hun- 
kers. 


1843.]  STATE    PRINTER.  343 

Mr.  Van  Dyck  was  announced  as  the  candidate  in 
opposition  to  Mr.  Croswell.  He  had  been  for  some  time 
previous  a  partner  with  the  two  Croswells,  and  had  con- 
tinued in  the  Argus  establishment  until  the  legislature 
convened,  in  perfect  friendship  with  them.  In  his  letter 
which  he  published  after  he  gave  up  the  contest,  he 
stated,  that  when  he  agreed  to  take  an  interest  in  the 
Argus  there  was  an  honorable  understanding  between 
him  and  Mr.  Croswell,  that  when  it  should  be  in  the 
power  of  the  democratic  party  to  appoint  a  state  printer, 
he  was  to  have  the  support  of  Mr.  Croswell  for  that 
office.  This  Mr.  Croswell  denied.  Van  Dyck,  if  we 
rightly  recollect,  did  not  claim  that  any  express  agree- 
ment to  that  effect  was  made.  We  therefore  can  readi- 
ly believe  that  both  gentlemen  were  honest  in  their  dec- 
larations. Mr.  Van  Dyck  may  have  received  the  im- 
pression from  conversations  with  Mr.  Croswell,  that  he 
intended  to  surrender  the  office  to  him,  when  the  latter 
did  not  mean  to  be  so  understood. 

Efforts  were  made  by  the  respective  friends  of  Messrs. 
Croswell  and  Van  Dyck  to  effect  a  compromise  of 
their  conflicting  claims,  in  which  senators  Dennison  and 
Bartlett  had  a  considerable  agency. 

The  printing  establishment  of  the  Argus  was  then 
owned  jointly  by  E.  Croswell,  S.  Croswell,  and  H.  H. 
Van  Dyck.  Mr.  Croswell  proposed  that  a  law  should 
be  passed  making  the  Argus  the  state  paper,  without 
naming  a  state  printer.  To  this  Mr.  Van  Dyck  object- 
ed, because  the  two  Croswells  owned  two-thirds  of  the 
establishment,  and  they  therefore  would  hold  a  control 
over  the  editorial  department  of  the  paper. 

Mr.  E.  Croswell  then  proposed  that  his  name  should 
be  withdrawn  as  a  candidate,  and  that  H.  H.  Van  Dyck 


344  POLITICAL  HI8TOKY  OK  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

and  Sherman  Croswell  should  be  appointed  state  print- 
ers ;  but  this  proposition  was  rejected  by  Mr.  Van 
Dyck,  on  the  same  ground  as  the  former ;  Mr.V.  D.  be- 
lieving, that  as  the  Messrs.  Croswell  would  hold  a  ma- 
jority of  the  stock  which  comprised  the  establishment, 
they  could  and  would  control  the  political  course  of  the 
paper.  The  attempt  to  compromise,  therefore,  failed. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  session,  Mr.  Dennison  gave 
notice  of  bringing  into  the  senate  a  bill  to  provide  for 
the  public  printing,  and  on  the  fifth  of  January  brought 
in  such  bill.  The  bill,  we  have  been  informed,  as 
drawn  by  Mr.  Dennison,  provided  for  the  appointment 
of  H.  H.  Van  Dyck  as  state  printer.  It  was  refer- 
red to  the  printing  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs. 
Lawrence,  Rhoades,  and  Hunter,  who  reported  a  bill, 
the  first  section  whereof  provided  that  the  state  printer 
should  be  appointed  by  the  joint  ballot  of  both  houses. 

Mr.  Foster,  who  favored  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Cros- 
well, moved  to  amend  this  section  by  enacting  that  the 
state  printer  should  be  appointed  on  the  nomination  of 
the  governor,  by  consent  of  the  senate.  This  amend- 
ment was  opposed  by  Mr.  Dennison  and  others,  but  it 
finally  succeeded,  the  whigs  generally  voting  for  it. 

Mr.  A.  B.  Dickinson,*  on  the  subject  of  the  amend- 

*  Mr.  Dickinson  was  from  t!se  county  of  Chemung,  and  formerly  be- 
longed to  the  democratic  party.  He  abandoned  that  party  in  1837.  HP 
is  an  unlettered  man,  and  has  derived  very  little  benefit  from  reading  in 
the  early  part  of  his  life,  but  his  native  mental  powers  are  uncommonly 
vigorous.  He  argues  a  question  with  great  force  and  effect.  He  pos- 
*e,Bses  a  discriminating  and  logical  mind,  and  his  reasoning  is  plain  and 
dear,  and  calculated  to  convince.  Though  his  style  of  speaking  is  rough 
and  unpolished,  he  is  at  times  truly  eloquent.  His  wit  is  keen.  He  rare- 
iy  came  in  contact  with  an  opponent  in  the  senate  who  did  not  quit  the 
combat  much  scathud  by  his  sarcasms. 


1843.]  STATE    PRINTER.  345 

merit,  said  he  "  thought  he  should  rather  prefer  it  to  the 
original  bill.  Before  voting  for  it,  however,  he  should 
like  to  know  whom  the  governor  would  appoint ;  whether 
there  were  not  some  more  Dutch  cousins  to  be  provided 
for.  And  he  should  wait  for  a  little  more  cross-firing 
here  ;  because  it  looked  a  little  as  if  the  forces  of  Com- 
modore Bouck  were  arrayed  against  those  of  Captain 
Flagg;  and  if  so,  he  preferred  the  commodore  alto- 
gether." Mr.  D.  concluded  by  expressing  the  opinion 
that  he  should  vote  either  one  way  or  the  other. 

When  the  question  came  before  the  senate  on  agree- 
ing to  the  report  of  the  committee  of  the  whole,  those 
who  voted  for  the  amendment  \vere — Bartlett,  Bockee, 
Chamberlin,  Corning,  Dickinson,  Ely,  Faulkner,  Foster, 
Franklin,  Hopkins,  Lott,  Mitchell,  Rhoades,  Schoville, 
Varian,  Works,  Wright — 17.  Those  who  voted  in  the 
negative  were — Dennison,  Deyo,  Hunter,  Platt,  Porter, 
Putnam,  Root,  Ruger,  Sherwood — 9. 

We  have  caused  the  names  of  the  democratic  sena- 
tors to  be  printed  in  italics,  from  which  it  will  be  seen 
that  this  was  a  test  vote  between  the  hunkers  and  radi- 
cals :  of  the  sixteen  democrats  who  voted,  ten  were 
hunkers  and  six  radicals.  Mr.  Scott,  of  New  York, 
and  Mr.  Strong,  of  Rensselaer,  known  radicals,  were 
absent  when  this  vote  was  taken.  The  two  sections  of 
the  party,  therefore,  then  stood  as  ten  to  eight. 

On  the  question  of  engrossing  the  bill  for  a  third  read- 
ing, Mr.  Dennison  said :  "  The  amendment  which  had  been 
adopted,  giving  the  appointment  to  the  executive  chair, 
and  which  was  pressed  through  yesterday  with  all  the 
energy  and  eloquence  of  the  senator  from  the  5th,  (Mr. 
Foster.)  was  gratuitous,  to  say  the  least.  Mr.  D.  re- 
gretted the  passage  of  that  amendment.  He  regret- 


346  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

ted  that  this  administration  was  to  be  saddled  with  so 
odious  a  measure,  in  the  outset,  as  this  taking  power 
from  the  many  and  giving  it  to  the  executive.  He  was 
well  satisfied  that  the  governor  had  no  desire  to  wield 
this  power.  The  journal  printed  by  the  state  printer 
was  always  looked  upon  as  the  organ  of  the  administra- 
tion, and  was  looked  upon  with  jealousy  by  the  people 
at  large.  How  much  better  that  that  journal  should  be 
selected  by  the  representatives  of  the  people  of  all  parts 
of  the  state  !  How  much  more  consistent  with  the  true 
principles  of  democracy !  The  people  in  the  extreme 
parts  of  the  state  always  look  with  jealousy  to  the  cen- 
tre ;  and  suspicions  always  existed  of  the  influence  of  a 
regency,  or  clique.  Now  it  was  proposed  to  have  a 
journal  connected  with  the  executive — dependent  on 
him,  at  least,  for  appointment — and  in  a  great  measure 
independent  of  the  immediate  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple. He  hoped  senators  would  reconsider  their  votes 
on  this  amendment ;  if  not,  he  hoped  it  would  be  arrest- 
ed in  the  other  house.  But  if  not  there,  he  still  hoped  it 
would  encounter  the  veto  power.  It  appeared  to  him  a 
proper  subject  for  the  exercise  of  that  power.  It  was 
an  anti-republican  measure  ;  it  was  stealing  power  from 
the  many  for  the  few." 

On  the  final  passage  of  the  bill,  16  senators  voted  for 
it  and  10  against  it. 

In  the  assembly  a  bill  was  brought  in  by  the  printing 
committee,  to  appoint  Edwin  Croswell  state  printer. 

Judge  Leland,  from  Steuben,  offered  an  amendment 
to  the  first  section,  striking  out  the  name  of  Edwin  Cros- 
well, and  which  provided  for  the  appointment  of  a  state 
printer  by  joint  ballot.  In  offering  the  amendment,  Mr. 
Leland,  among  other  things,  said,  "  there  had  been  a  great 


1843.]  STATE  PRINTER.  347 

deal  of  influence  brought  to  bear  on  this  subject,  from 
ail  quarters.  All  who  had  come  up  here  for  office,  and 
who  were  expecting  patronage,  had  been  brought  in  to 
take  one  side  or  the  other ;  and  neither  side  knowing 
what  will  be  the  result,  there  were  some  who  were  dis- 
posed to  cry  "  good  lord,  if  a  lord,  or  good  devil,  if  not  a 
lord," — so  that  this  had  become  a  very  absorbing  subject. 
The  question,  who  were  the  friends  of  the  governor,  had 
been  raised  on  this  subject." 

The  amendment  proposed  by  Mr.  Leland  made  the 
bill  nearly  similar  to  the  senate's  bill  before  it  was 
amended  by  Mr.  Foster ;  and  by  an  apparent  consent 
of  the  two  sections  of  the  democratic  party  in  the  as- 
sembly, it  was  adopted. 

The  senate  subsequently  concurred  substantially  in 
the  bill  from  the  assembly  as  amended  by  Mr.  Leland ; 
so  that  the  state  printer  was  by  law  required  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  joint  ballot  of  the  two  houses. 

On  the  21st  of  January,  a  caucus  of  the  democratic 
members  of  the  two  houses  was  held  for  the  nomination 
of  state  printer.  But  before  giving  the  result  of  this 
meeting,  it  may  be  proper  to  state  that  Mr.  Van  Dyck 
had  withdrawn  his  name  as  a  candidate  for  the  office, 
and  there  was  not  in  reality  any  candidate  against  Mr. 
Croswell.  Those  of  the  caucus  who  would  not  vote  for 
Mr.  Croswell,  voted  without  any  hope  of  success,  and 
we  presume  without  any  serious  effort  on  his  part,  for 
William  C.  Bryant,  of  the  Evening  Post.  There  were 
108  members  present,  of  whom  66  voted  for  Mr.  Cros- 
well, 40  for  Mr.  Bryant,  and  there  were  two  scattering 
votes  cast. 

The  next  day  the  election  was  made  by  the  two 
houses,  in  pursuance  of  the  nomination.  On  the  same 


348  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

day  Ebenezer  Mack,  of  Ithaca,  formerly  a  senator,  and 
author  of  the  biography  of  Gen.  Lafayette,  was  chosen 
printer  to  the  senate,  and  Messrs.  Carrol  and  Cook  for 
the  assembly. 

In  connection  with  this  subject  it  may  be  proper  to 
state,  that  some  time  in  the  year  1841,  Messrs.  Vance 
and  Wendell  established  a  democratic  daily  paper  in 
the  city  of  Albany,  called  the  Albany  Atlas. 

The  object  of  the  proprietors  seemed  to  be  that  of' 
mere  business  men.  It  was  a  respectable  newspaper, 
and  uniform  in  its  course  as  respected  the  party  to- which 
it  professed  to  belong.  It  did  not  attract  much  atten- 
tion as  a  political  paper  until  the  commencement  of  the 
session  of  the  legislature  in  1843.  About  that  time  it 
was  transferred  to  Messrs.  French*  and  Cassidy.  These 
gentlemen  were  young  men,  and  both  of  them  very  pop- 
ular with  the  young  men  of  Albany.  Mr.  French  was 
ardent  and  generous  ;  and  such  was  the  influence  of  the 
young  men,  and  so  much  was  he  their  favorite,  that  in 
1840  and  1842,  he  was  nominated  by  the  democrats  of 
Albany  a  candidate  for  congress  against  Gen.  Dix,  or 
Gov.  Marcy,  or  both,  in  opposition  to  the  joint  efforts  of 
Mr.  Flagg,  and  many  others  of  the  most  influential  poli- 
ticians in  Albany,  among  whom,  we  believe,  was  Mr. 
Edwin  Croswell. 

When  the  question  of  state  printer  came  to  be  agitated, 
the  Atlas,  under  the  direction  of  Messrs.  French  and  Cassi- 
dy, took  bold  and  decided  ground  against  Mr.  Croswell : 
and  the  corps  of  young  men  who  had  before  been  the 
personal  and  political  friends  of  French  and  Cassidy, 
formed  a  sort  of  radical  association,  of  which  the  Atlas 

«  James  M.  French  uud  William  Cassidy. 


1943.]  MR.   WRIGHT    RE-ELECTED    SENATOR.  349 

was  the  organ.  It  was  in  that  paper  that  Mr.  Van  Dyck 
published  his  communications  while  he  was  contending 
with  Mr.  Croswell  for  the  state  printing. 

On  the  7th  day  of  February,  Silas  Wright  was  re- 
elected  senator  of  the  United  States  for  six  years,  from 
the  4th  day  of  March,  1843.  It  is  a  singular  fact  in  the 
political  history  of  the  state,  that  notwithstanding  the 
general  inclination,  to  which  we  have  before  alluded,  of 
the  people  for  rotation  in  office — notwithstanding  the 
office  of  senator  of  the  United  States,  to  a  man  who 
has  talents  and  taste  for  public  life,  is  perhaps  the  most 
desirable  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people  or  legislature 
of  the  state,  and  notwithstanding  the  furious  contending 
factions  which  at  that  time  existed  among  the  democratic 
members  of  the  legislature, — at  the  caucus  held  on  the 
evening  before  the  day  on  which  Mr.  Wright  was  cho- 
sen, upon  balloting  for  a  candidate,  his  name  was  found 
written  on  every  ballot.  He  had  in  fact  outlived  not 
only  opposition  but  competition.  In  the  senate  Mr. 
Wright  received  17  votes,  Mr.  Filmore  6,  Mr.  Collier 
one,  and  Gen.  Root  voted  for  Mr.  Bradish.  In  the  as- 
sembly, Wright  received  77  votes,  Filmore  16,  and  there 
were  15  scattering  whig  votes. 

Mr.  A.  B.'  Dickinson  offered  the  following  resolution, 
which  produced  considerable  discussion,  and  some  ex- 
citement between  the  democratic  and  whig  members. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  canal  commissioners  report  to 
the  senate,  as  soon  as  practicable,  the  length  or  distance 
from  the  macadamized  road  of  the  northern  part  of  the 
ornamental  rubble  wall  on  the  line  of  the  canal  between 
the  cities  of  Albany  and  Troy,  formerly  under  the  charge 
of  Wm.  C.  Bouck,  canal  commissioner,  which  said  wall 
commences  in  front  of  the  premises  owned  by  W.  J. 


350  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

Worth,  and  passes  along  the  property  owned  by  David 
Hamilton,  late  canal  superintendent,  and  Edward  Learn- 
ed, canal  contractor ;  also  what  is  the  distance  on  a  par- 
allel line  between  the  said  road  and  the  wall  next  south 
of  the  interval  or  space  between  the  said  walls  from  the 
said  road  ;  whether  the  nature  of  the  soil  or  any  other 
cause  required  the  erection  of  the  first-described  wall, 
which  would  not  equally  apply  to  the  space  between  the 
two  walls  ;  and  whether,  if  the  said  first-required  wall  was 
required  to  be  erected  for  canal  purposes  or  for  the  pro- 
tection of  travellers  on  the  road,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
connect  the  two  walls  by  a  similar  erection." 

Mr.  Dickinson  charged  that  Gov.  Bouck,  while  canal 
commissioner,  had  expended  more  money  in  enlarging 
the  canal,  between  Albany  and  Schenectady,  and  in 
erecting  ornamental  works,  than  was  necessary.  In 
the  course  of  the  investigation  it  did  appear  that  a 
very  large  sum  of  money  had  been  expended  on  that 
part  of  the  canal ;  but  after  a  pretty  thorough  inves- 
tigation by  a  committee,  of  which  we  believe  Dr. 
Ely,  a  senator  from  the  fifth  district,  was  chairman, 
nothing  appeared  which  proved  any  improper  con- 
duct on  the  part  of  Mr.  Bouck.  This  attack  of  Mr. 
Dickinson  on  the  governor,  when  canal  commissioner, 
was  conducted  by  Mr.  D.  with  more  than  his  usual  bold- 
ness, vigor,  and  ability.  The  controversy  growing  out 
of  the  investigation  was,  we  believe,  carried  on  entirely 
between  the  whigs  and  democrats,  without  distinction, 
as  relates  to  the  two  sections  of  the  last-named  party  ; 
but  another  question  soon  came  before  the  senate  which 
excited  much  bitterness  of  feeling,  and  served  to  widen 
the  breach  between  the  hunkers  and  radicals. 

Several  years   before  this  the  governor  had  by  law 


1813.]          THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY.  351 

been  directed  to  cause  a  geological  survey  of  the  state 
to  be  made,  and  the  result  of  the  survey  to  be  published. 
In  pursuance  of  this  direction,  surveyors  had  been  em- 
ployed, a  very  thorough  exploration  had  been  com- 
menced, and  the  survey  nearly  completed  ;  contracts 
for  publishing  the  result  had  been  entered  into,  and  six 
volumes  had  been  published.  The  work  was  got  up  in  a 
magnificent  style,  and  at  great  expense.  The  cost  of 
each  volume,  including  the  plates  and  printing,  it  was 
said,  would  be  four  dollars,  and  it  was  probable,  before 
it  was  completed,  ten  volumes  would  be  issued.  Three 
thousand  volumes  were  directed  to  be  printed. 

In  1842,  the  legislature  passed  a  law,  by  a  vote  of  a 
majority  of  the  members  present,  directing  that  these 
books  should  be  deposited  with  the  secretary  of  state, 
and  that  two  copies  should  be  delivered  gratuitously  to 
the  governor,  and  also  the  same  number  to  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  and  to  all  surviving  governors  and  lieutenant- 
governors,  and  one  copy  to  each  member  of  the  legisla- 
ture of  1842. 

Prior  to  the  session  of  1843  the  books  came  to  the 
hands  of  Col.  Young,  then  secretary  of  state ;  and  on 
the  13th  day  of  March,  he  made  a  communication  to  the 
senate,  in  which  he  stated  that  in  his  judgment  that  part 
of  the  law  of  1842  which  directed  a  gratuitous  distribu- 
tion of  the  geological  books  was  unconstitutional,  inas- 
much as  it  was  a  grant  of  property  to  individuals,  and 
had  not  been  passed  by  two-thirds  of  the  members  of 
both  houses ;  and  that  therefore  he  did  not  feel  author- 
ized to  deliver  the  books  in  pursuance  of  its  directions. 
This  communication  was  by  order  of  the  senate  refer- 
red to  the  judiciary  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Strong  was 
chairman  ;  and  on  the  17th  of  March,  Col.  Young  ad- 


352  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

dressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Strong,  as  the  organ  of  the  com- 
mittee, in  which  he  discussed  the  question  of  the  con- 
stitutionality of  the  act  of  1842  with  great  ability,  and 
also  reviewed  with  freedom,  and  some  severity,  the  past 
action  of  the  legislature  in  making  grants  of  money,  or 
other  property,  and  contended  that  millions  of  outstand- 
ing stocks  were  then  impending  over  the  state,  which 
were  "  created  by  laws  in  clear  and  direct  hostility  with 
the  plain  provisions  of  the  constitution."  He  added  that 
"these  laws  were  null  and  void  from  their  inception, 
and  cannot  impose  even  the  shadow  of  a  moral  obliga- 
tion for  the  fulfilment  of  their  ostensible  demands. 
Whether  the  people  of  the  state  will  quietly  bow  their 
necks  to  the  yoke,  and  pay  a  premium  upon  legislative 
wickedness  and  encroachment,  will  be  disclosed  by  the 
future ;  and  if  the  double  course  of  past  profligacy  and 
past  precedent  can  be  fastened  upon  them,  they  will  then 
be  meek  enough  to  bear  without  a  murmur  the  amplest 
strides  of  unbridled  tyranny.  Precedents  sufficiently 
rank  for  any  purpose  whatever,  may  be  found  in  the  le- 
gislation of  1836 — in  that  memorable  year  when  corrup- 
tion vegetated  with  a  more  vigorous  growth  than  the 
foulest  plant  of  the  tropics,  and  when  a  majority  of  one 
branch  sympathetically  resolved  that  moral  and  official 
crimes  did  not  disqualify  individuals  from  holding  a  seat 
in  that  body,  and  consequently  that  such  crimes  were 
to  be  regarded  as  senatorial  prerogatives." 

The  reading  of  this  letter  produced  an  instantaneous 
excitement  in  the  senate.  The  lieutenant-governor, 
Dickinson,  who  was  then  in  the  chair,  had  but  a  day  or 
two  before  decided  that  a  bill  which  in  effect  released 
the  lien  of  the  state  on  the  New  York  and  Erie  Rail- 
road, which  it  held  for  securing  the  repayment  of  a  loan 


1843.]  RESULILK.X    BY  MR.   FOSTEK.  353 

to  that  company  of  three  millions  of  dollars,  was  a  ma- 
jority and  not  a  two-third  bill,  felt  himself  personally 
implicated  (though  it  is  not  probable  that  Col.  Young 
intended  to  allude  particularly  to  any  individuals)  by  the 
passage  we  have  quoted. 

The  moment  the  reading  of  the  letter  was  concluded, 
Mr.  A.  B.  Dickinson  rose  and  uttered  the  following  se- 
vere and  caustic  remarks : 

"  He  inquired  if  it  had  been  ordered  printed ;  and, 
being  answered  in  the  affirmative,  moved  that  ten  times 
the  usual  number  of  copies  be  printed.  He  took  it  this 
was  a  political  text-book  for  barnburners  ;  and,  though 
he  did  not  know  how  it  came  here,  he  was  for  having  it 
either  widely  diffused,  or  returned  to  its  author.  He 
had  thought — and  he  had  so  intimated — of  offering  a 
resolution  to  remove  the  secretary  of  state  for  blas- 
phemy ;  but  the  secretary  seemed  to  have  become  very 
pious  all  at  once.  He  had  quoted  about  every  thing  in 
this  document,  except  the  ten  commandments.  By  what 
right  did  the  secretary  of  state  lecture  the  legislature  for 
having  quoted  precedent  in  justification  of  their  action  ? 
Had  they  not  a  right  to  quote  precedent?  He  moved 
to  print  ten  times  the  usual  number  of  the  communica- 
tion." 

The  next  day  Mr.  Foster  offered  the  following  reso- 
lution : 

"  Whereas  in  a  communication  from  the  secretary  of 
state,  presented  to  this  house  on  the  20th  inst.,  it  is  al- 
leged that  '  millions  of  outstanding  stocks  are  now  im- 
pending over  the  state,  which  were  created  by  laws  in 
clear  and  direct  hostility  with  the  plain  provisions  of  the 
constitution  ;'  and  that  '  these  laws  were  null  and  void 
from  their  inception,  and  cannot  impose  even  the  shadow 
23 


35  i  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

of  a  moral  obligation  for  the  fulfilment  of  their  ostensible 
demands.'  And  whereas,  an  assent,  either  tacit  or  ex- 
press, on  the  part  of  the  senate,  to  the  sentiments  above 
set  forth,  would  not  only  excite  apprehensions  and  alarm 
in  the  minds  of  the  creditors  of  the  state,  but  would 
lessen  its  honor  and  character  in  the  estimation  of  the 
world.  Thei-efore, 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  house,  the 
state  of  New  York  will  not  only  fully  redeem  its  plight- 
ed faith  to  all  its  creditors,  but  that  it  is  morally  and 
legally,  as  well  as  in  good  faith  and  honesty,  bound  to 
discharge  every  public  debt  which  has  been  created,  and 
every  dollar  of  stock  which  has  been  issued." 

Mr.  Rhoades  declared  his  approbation  of  the  resolu- 
tion offered  by  Mr.  Foster,  but  said  that  not  expecting 
that  any  other  senator  would  present  a  resolution,  he 
had  prepared  one  which  he  would  lay  on  the  table,  that 
the  senate  might  have  a  choice.  The  preamble  and 
resolution  drawn  by  Mr.  Rhoades  were  very  severe  upon 
the  secretary  of  state.  The  resolution  which  followed 
his  preamble  was  in  these  words  : 

"  Resolved,  That  we  utterly  discard  the  '  wickedness 
of  all  executive,  legislative,  or  ministerial  assumptions, 
which,  under  the  guise  of  respect  for  the  '  constitution,' 
or  the  influence  of  any  :  past  precedent,'  would  make  an 
'encroachment'  upon  the  plighted  faith,  untarnished 
fame,  character,  and  credit  of  this  state." 

The  ground  on  which  Mr.  Foster  urged  his  resolution 
was,  that  the  assertion  of  Col.  Young  that  millions  of 
stock  then  outstanding  had  been  created  by  unconstitu- 
tional laws,  might  induce  an  impression  abroad  that  the 
state  of  New  York  intended  repudiation  ;  on  the  other 
hand  it  was  insisted  that  the  condemnation  of  past  legis- 


1843.]          RESOLUTION  BY  GEN.  ROOT.  35^ 

lation  by  Col.  Young,  by  no  means  implied  that  either 
he  or  his  political  friends  meant  to  deny  but  that  the  state 
was  bound  faithfully  to  perform  its  engagements  with 
those  who  had  loaned  money  to  its  agents  on  the  au- 
thority of  the  laws  passed  by  its  legislature.  Several 
amendments  to,  or  substitutes  for  Mr.  Foster's  resolution 
were  offered  ;  among  which  was  the  following,  proposed 
by  Gen.  Root : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  communication  of  the  secretary 
of  state,  stating  that  '  millions  of  outstanding  stocks  are 
now  impending  over  the  state,  which  were  created  bylaws 
in  clear  and  direct  hostility  with  the  plain  provisions  of 
the  constitution — and  that  these  laws  were  null  and  void 
from  their  inception,  and  cannot  impose  even  a  shadow 
of  a  moral  obligation  for  the  fulfilment  of  their  ostensi- 
ble demand.'  contains  sentiments  which  ought  not,  even 
for  a  moment,  to  be  entertained  by  the  legislature ;  nei- 
ther the  government  nor  the  legislature  are  warranted" 
in  expressing  a  doubt  of  its  legal,  moral,  and  civil  obli- 
gations, to  pay  all  its  bonds  punctually,  to  pay  the  in- 
terest, and  actually  to  redeem  the  principal  of  all  the 
stocks  issued  by  its  officers,  appointed  for  that  purpose. - 
Their  authority,  when  derived  from  public  laws,  cannot 
be  questioned,  nor  can  any  defect  in  the  passage  of 
such  laws  in  anywise  invalidate  the  issue  of  any  such 
stocks." 

This  substitute  was  supported  by  all  the  radicals  in 
the  senate,  and  four  whigs — Messrs.  Hard,  Dickinson, 
Root,  and  Works.  The  following  are  the  ayes  and  noes  : 

Ayes — Messrs.  Dennison,  Dickinson,  Hard,  Hunter,' 
Lawrence,  Porter,  Root,  Ruger,  Sherwood,  Strong,  Var- 
ney,  Works — 12. 

Noes— Messrs.  Bartlit,  Bockee,  Chamberlain,  Dixon, 


»JJG  POLITICAL.  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [J843. 

Ely,  Foster,  Franklin,  Lott,  Mitchell,  Scovil,  Variau, 
Wright— 12. 

The  lieutenant-governor  gave  a  casting  vote  in  the 
negative,  which  implied  that  he  preferred  Mr.  Foster's 
resolution  to  Gen.  Root's. 

We  have  received  information  from  a  quarter  that 
does  not  permit  us  to  doubt  of  its  correctness,  that  the 
tie  vote  on  Gen.  Root's  substitute  was  given  by  a  pre- 
vious arrangement,  and  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Dickin- 
son, for  the  purpose  of  affording  him  an  opportunity  to 
reply  to  the  letter  addressed  by  Col.  Young  to  the  judi- 
ciary committee.  But  whether  this 'information  be  well 
or  ill  founded,  it  is  a  fact  that  Mr.  Dickinson,  before 
giving  the  casting  vote,  availed  himself  of  the  occasion 
to  state  his  reasons  for  that  vote,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  review  the  letter  of  Col.  Young  to  Mr.  Strong,  and 
deliver  an  elaborate  argument  against  the  positions  ta- 
ken by  Mr.  Young  in  that  letter.  This  led  to  a  news- 
paper controversy  between  the  secretary  of  state  and 
the  lieutenant-governor,  marked  with  extreme  bitter- 
ness on  both  sides.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Dickinson  being 
fully  aware  of  the  great  talents  of  Mr.  Young  as  a  writer, 
were  justly  alarmed  when  they  became  aware  of  the 
impending  controversy ;  but  in  the  course  of  the  corre- 
spondence Mr.  Dickinson  developed,  to  their  great  sat- 
-isfaction,  tact  and  talent,  when  he  appeared  on  paper, 
which  enabled  him  to  quit  the  field,  after  a  contest  with 
so  formidable  an  antagonist,  if  not  with  the  laurels  of 
a  conqueror,  at  least  with  the  reputation  of  having  com- 
bated with  much  skill. 

In  conclusion,  we  will  venture,  with  great  diffidence 
in  our  own  judgment,  to  say  that  we  cannoi  resist  the 
conclusion,  that  the  law  which  granted  to  each  member 


1843.]  BANK    COMMISSIONERS.  357 

of  the  legislature  of  1842  property  to  the  value  of  thirty 
or  forty  dollars,  was  sjuch  a  grant  as  was  inconsistent 
with  the  constitution  of  1821,  unless  sanctioned  by  the 
votes  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  elected  to  both 
houses  of  the  legislature. 

Col.  Young  reasoned  that,  being  unconstitutional,  the 
law  was  void  ;  that  a  void  thing  was  nothing ;  and  that 
he  was  therefore  left  without  any  authority  to  make  the 
distribution.  But  whether  an  executive  officer  is  au- 
thorized to  refuse  to  obey  a  law  passed  by  the  law-ma- 
king power,  unless  in  extraordinary  cases,  from  which 
the  most  disastrous  consequences  would  instantaneously 
result,  because  he  himself  believes  the  law  unconstitu- 
tional, may  certainly  admit  of  great  doubt.  Col.  Young 
might,  without  making  any  official  communication  to  the 
legislature,  have  simply  refused  to  deliver  the  books,  and 
advised  the  parties  claiming  them  to  apply  to  the  Su- 
preme Court  for  an  alternative  mandamus,  requiring 
him  to  show  cause  why  he  refused  to  obey  the  mandate 
of  the  legislature  ;  and  on  his  return  to  that  writ  the  con- 
stitutionality of  the  law  would  have  been  decided  by  the 
supreme  judicial  tribunal, — a  tribunal  created  for  that 
very  purpose  by  the  same  constitution  which  Col.  Young 
properly  contended  was  the  paramount  law  of  the  state. 

We  repeat,  that  this  controversy  served  to  widen  the 
difference  between  the  hunkers  and  radicals. 

By  the  existing  law  there  were  three  bank  commis- 
sioners, who  were  allowed  liberal  salaries.  From  the  con- 
trol they  possessed  over  banks  they  had  great  influence. 
One  of  these  officers  was  appointed  on  the  nomination 
of  the  governor  by  the  consent  of  the  senate,  and  the 
others  elected  by  the  banks.  The  existing  state  bank 
commissioner  was  a  whig,  appointed  by  Gov.  Seward. 


358  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [18-13. 

Of  course,  his  successor  would  now  be  selected  by  Gov. 
Bouck.  » 

Early  in  the  session,  a  committee  of  the  senate  was 
raised  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into  consideration  the 
propriety  of  reducing  the  salaries  of  officers,  and  for  de- 
vising other  means  for  reducing  the  expenses  of  the 
state  government,  so  far  as  such  reduction  could  be 
made  without  injury  to  the  public  service.  Dr.  Ely,  a 
friend  of  Gov.  Bouck,  was  appointed  chairman  of  that 
committee,  and  in  his  report,  among  other  reforms,  rec- 
ommended that  the  number  of  bank  commissioners 
should  be  reduced  to  one  only. 

Shortly  afterwards  a  bill  was  brought  into  the  assem- 
bly by  Mr.  Leland,  chairman  of  the  bank  committee,  in 
accordance  with  the  views  of  the  senate's  committee, 
which,  after  much  discussion,  passed  that  house,  but  fail- 
ed of  passing  the  senate.  Subsequently,  Mr.  Stimpson 
introduced  into  the  assembly  a  bill  to  abolish  the  office 
of  bank  commissioner.  This  bill  passed  the  assembly  by 
a  vote  of  56  to  23. 

Upon  examining  the  ayes  and  noes  it  will  be  seen 
that  many  of  the  democratic  members,  among  whom 
was  Mr.  Leland,  chairman  of  the  bank  committee,  did 
not  vote  on  the  question,  and  that  all  the  whigs  and 
.some  of  the  radicals  voted  for  the  bill.  It  did  not  reach 
the  senate,  so  as  to  be  announced  and  read  the  first  and 
second  time,  until  the  last  day  of  the  session.  On  the 
motion  of  Mr.  Dennison,  the  rules  of  the  senate  were 
suspended,  and  the  bill  was  ordered  to  a  third  reading 
on  that  day.  The  ayes  and  noes  on  its  final  passage 
were :  Ayes — Messrs.  Dennison,  Deyo,  Dickinson,  Dixon, 
Hard,  Hunter,  Platt,  Porter,  Ruger,  Scott,  Strong, 
Works — 12.  Noes — Messrs.  Bartlit,  Chamberlain,  Cor- 


1843.]  REJECTION  OF  GOV.'s   NOMINATIONS.  359 

ning,  Ely,  Faulkner,  Foster,  Franklin,  Lott,  Mitchell, 
Putnam,  Wright— 11. 

The  reader  will  perceive  thatall  the  radicals  present  and 
five  whigs  voted  for  the  bill,  and  all  the  hunkers  present 
and  two  of  the  whigs,  Messrs.  Franklin  and  Putnam,  vo- 
ted against  it.  The  hunkers  charged  the  action  of  the 
radicals  on  this  question  as  originating  from  a  desire  to 
curtail  the  patronage  of  the  governor,  and  give  addi- 
tional power  and  influence  to  the  comptroller,  on  whom 
the  principal  duties  performed  by  the  bank  commission- 
ers were  by  this  bill  devolved. 

There  was  still  another  circumstance  that  occurred, 
which,  although  trifling  in  itself,  from  the  general  prac- 
tice of  preceding  political  parties,  greatly  increased  the 
irritation  between  the  two  sections  of  the  democratic 
party. 

Several  of  the  nominations  for  office,  made  by  Gov. 
Bouck,  were  rejected  in  the  senate  by  the  united  votes 
of  the  radical  members,  supported  by  a  majority  of  the 
whigs. 

So  far  as  we  can  recollect,  the  first  collision  which 
was  publicly  known  happened  on  a  disagreement  be- 
tween the  governor  and  senate  in  respect  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  loan  officer  and  notary  public  in  the  county 
of  Jefferson.*  The  case  was  briefly  this  : 


*  There  were  four  civil  offices  vacant  in  the  county  of  Jefferson. 
Messrs.  Church  and  Graves,  two  of  the  members  of  assembly  from  that 
county,  presented  the  governor  with  the  names  of  four  hunkers,  whom 
they  recommended  should  be  appointed  to  fill  these  offices.  Messrs.  Ru- 
ger  and  Lampsou  recommended  the  appointment  of  four  radicals.  Th« 
governor  made  an  ineffectual  effort  to  induce  the  representatives  from  tho 
county  to  compromise  their  differences,  and  mutually  to  agree  on  the  per- 
sons he  should  nominate.  Failing  in  this  effort,  he  selected  two  names 


860  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

The  governor  nominated  Jason  Clark  for  loan  officer, 
and  Pearson  Mundy  for  notary  public.  Senator  Ruger 
and  Mr.  Lampson,  a  member  of  the  assembly,  had  rec- 
ommended two  other  persons  for  these  offices ;  and 
Messrs.  Church  and  Graves,  the  two  remaining  mem- 
bers of  assembly  from  Jefferson,  had  recommended 
Clark  and  Mundy.  These  nominations,  together  with 
others  for  the  county,  were,  as  usual,  referred  to  the 
senators  from  the  fifth  district,  consisting  of  Ely,  Foster, 
Scovil,  and  Ruger.  The  three  first-named  members  of 
the  committee  reported  in  favor  of  confirming  the  nom- 
inations, from  which  Mr.  Ruger  dissented,  and  presented 
to  the  senate  a  minority  report,  written  under  apparent 
excitement,  and  with  great  bitterness.  He  stated  in 
that  report  that  it  was  usual  to  leave  to  the  senator  from 
the  county  the  selection  of  the  proper  candidates  for 
office  from  his  own  county :  that  he  was  held  responsible 
to  its  citizens  as  his  immediate  constituents  for  such  ap- 
pointments, and  that  the  practice  of  the  senators  of  the 
fifth  district  was  in  accordance  with  this  custom.  Mr. 
Ruger  concludes  his  report  by  the  following  tart  and 
rather  uncourteous  paragraphs : 

"  The  democracy  of  Jefferson  county  have  for  years 
been  suspicious  of  a  foreign  conservative  influence,  af- 
fecting nominations  and  appointments  in  the  county  ; 
and  now,  when  their  suspicions  are  confirmed  by  proof, 
and  they  see  the  officious  and  intermeddling  hand  of 
foreign  conservatism,  pointing  out  who  shall  be  the  offi- 
cers of  that  county,  they  will  repel  this  indignity  upon 
them  with  the  contempt  it  deserves. 

from  each  list,  and  sent  them  to  the  senate.  The  nomination  of  the  radi- 
cals was  confirmed,  but  that  of  the  hunkers  was  rejected  iu  the  manner 
staled  in  the  text. 


1843.]  RECORDER  OF  TROY.  361 

"  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  these  conservative  disor- 
ganizers  had  not  been  content  with  their  labors  in  their 
own  counties.  But  it  has  been  otherwise.  Restless,  as 
it  were,  to  do  the  greatest  mischief,  and  to  bring  odium 
upon  themselves,  they  have  travelled  abroad  to  receive 
that  odium  and  contempt  due  to  their  labors." 

On  the  4th  of  April  the  senate  acted  upon  the  two  re- 
ports, when  a  majority  voted  for  rejecting  the  nomina- 
tions. 

Those  who  voted  for  rejecting  were,  Messrs.  Denni- 
son,  Deyo,  Dixon,  Hard,  Hopkins,  Hunter,  Platt,  Porter, 
Putnam,  Rhoades,  Root,  Ruger,  Scott,  Strong,  Varney, 
Works— 16. 

The  names  of  those  who  voted  in  favor  of  confirming 
the  governor's  nominations  were,  Messrs.  Bartlit,  Bockee, 
Chamberlain,  Corning,  Ely,  Faulkner,  Foster,  Franklin. 
Lott,  Mitchell,  Scovil,  Varian,  Wright — 13. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  the  rejection  was  produced 
by  the  votes  of  e'ight  radical  and  eight  whig  members. 

Another  difficulty  of  the  same  kind  occurred  quite  at 
the  latter  part  of  the  session,  upon  the  nomination  by  the 
governor  of  David  Buel  for  recorder  of  the  city  of  Troy. 

Senator  Strong  had  for  five  years  been  recorder  of 
that  city,  and  was  (no  doubt  deservedly)  highly  esteem- 
ed by  the  people  and  the  bar  of  Troy  as  a  useful  and 
excellent  judge.  The  constitutional  term  of  his  office 
had  expired,  and  being  a  member  of  the  legislature  he 
was  ineligible  to  a  reappointment.  The  people  of  Troy, 
as  was  stated  by  Mr.  Strong  when  /the  subject  of  a  nom- 
ination of  a  successor  was  before  the  senate,  had  not  in- 
dicated who  they  desired  should  be  appointed  recorder  : 
but  Gov.  Bouck,  contra rv  to  an  understanding  between 
him  and  Mr.  Strong,  as  the  latter  alleged,  had  nornim:- 


362  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [l8i3. 

ted  Judge  Duel  for  the  office.  It  seems  also  to  be  ad- 
mitted, by  all  parties,  that  Mr.  Buel  was  not  aware  that 
his  name  was  sent  to  the  senate.  Mr.  Strong  opposed 
the  confirmation  of  this  nomination  in  a  speech  of  some 
length,  in  which  he  animadverted  with  great  severity 
on  the  conduct  of  the  governor,  and  the  senate  rejected 
the  nomination  by  the  following  vote,  Mr.  Strong  him- 
self declining  to  vote  : 

For  confirming. — Democrats:  Messrs.  Bartlit,Bockee, 
Chamberlain,  Corning,  Ely,  Faulkner.  Foster,  Lott, 
Mitchell,  Scovil,  Varian,  Wright— 12. 

Against  confirming.  —  Whigs  :  Messrs.  Dickinson, 
Dixon,  Franklin,  Hard,  Hopkins,  Platt,  Putnam,  Rhoades, 
Root,  Works — 10.  Democrats  :  Messrs.  Dennison,  De- 
yo,  Hunter,  Porter,  Ruger,  Scott,  Sherwood,  Varriey — 8. 

These  rejections  and  some  others,  and  the  means  by 
which  they  were  procured,  the  hunkers  contended  were 
evidence  of  a  violation  of  good  faith  to  the  party  by  the 
radicals,  and  a  determination  on  their  part  to  wage  a 
war  against  the  governor. 

Having  mentioned  the  case  of  the  recorder  of  Troy, 
in  which  Mr.  Strong  was  personally  concerned,  it  is  per- 
haps justly  due  to  him  to  copy  an  article  from  the  Troy 
Budget,  as  evidence  of  the  light  in  which  his  conduct 
was  viewed  by  his  democratic  fellow-citizens  of  his  own 
city,  and  the  estimate  formed  of  his  official  services  by 
the  Troy  public : 

"  When  elected  senator,  we  know  that  gentleman 
[Mr.  Strong]  held  the  office  of  recorder  at  the  free  dis- 
posal of  his  democratic  fellow-citizens,  both  willing  and 
desirous  to  relinquish  it  whenever  they  should  signify- 
not  only  their  wish,  but  their  willingness  that  he  should 
do  so.  When  the  appointing  power  had  become  cruir.ged, 


1813.]  RECORDER  OF  TROY.  363 

several  citizens,  under  the  well-known  impression  that 
Mr.  Strong  was  desirous  of  vacating  the  recordership, 
(and  most  of  them  with  no  other  understanding,)  peti- 
tioned the  governor  in  behalf  of  Judge  Buel,  an  able 
and  universally  esteemed  citizen.  Meanwhile,  nearly 
the  entire  bar  of  the  city  requested  Mr.  S.,  who  is  a 
great  favorite  as  judge  of  the  mayor's  court,  to  retain, 
and  the  governor,  at  the  same  time,  to  continue  him  in 
the  place,  to  which  the  latter,  we  believe,  had  tacitly 
assented.  Had  an  appointment  under  these  circum- 
stances been  made  at  the  close  of  the  session,  it  would 
have  been  as  unexpected  to  those  who  had  signed  the 
petition  for  Judge  Buel,  as  to  the  rest  of  the  community. 
****** 

"  Judge  B.  never  was  an  applicant  for  the  office,  and 
he  would  by  no  means  have  accepted  it — as  his  high 
sense  of  honor  will  attest — with  the  wishes  of  the  bar 
in  behalf  of  the  present  incumbent,  and  his  willingness 
to  retain  the  post,  so  clearly  manifest.  Both  these  gen- 
tlemen are  highly  esteemed  here  by  the  members  of 
their  profession,  and  by  the  community  at  large,  and 
there  can  be  no  misunderstanding  between  them  and 
their  friends  on  this  subject.  We  are  also  compelled  to 
state,  since  his  name  has  been  involved  in  the  con- 
troversy, that  Gen.  Davis  undisguisedly  admits  that  he 
never  advised  or  sanctioned  the  change  in  the  recorder- 
ship.  It  may  not  be  improper,  however,  in  this  connec- 
tion, to  add,  that  the  use  of  Gen.  Davis's  or  Mr.  Strong's 
name  in  this  article  is  without  their  knowledge  or  ad- 
vice. And  we  may  say,  et  passim,  that  we  are  glad  to 
see  Mr.  S.'s  philosophical  coolness  and  quietude  on  the 
subject." 

The   policy  pursued  by  the  whig  senators  was  ex- 


364  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

tremely  judicious,  and  well  and  successfully  carried  out. 
On  all  mere  party  questions  on  which  the  hunkers  and 
radicals  were  irreconcilably  divided,  there  was  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  whigs  ever  ready  by  their  votes  to  de- 
cide the  question  in  favor  of  one  or  the  other  section 
of  the  democratic  party,  as  best  suited  their  views  of 
what  was  right  or  what  was  politic. 

We  have  no  doubt  the  rejections  of  the  governor's 
nominations  for  comparatively  trifling  offices,  produced 
more  unkind  feeling  among  the  democratic  members 
than  any  thing  which  occurred  during  the  session. 

The  legislature  adjourned  on  the  18th  of  April.  Not- 
withstanding the  bitterness  which  at  times  had  prevailed 
during  the  session  between  the  democratic  members,  a 
caucus  was  held  on  the  evening  before  the  adjourn- 
ment, which  they  generally  attended,  and  in  which  there 
was  an  apparent  cordial  union.  An  address  was  read 
and  approved  unanimously,  and  resolutions  were  adopt- 
ed, by  one  of  which  the  caucus  recommended  the  sup- 
port of  Martin  Van  Buren  for  the  office  of  president  of 
the  United  States. 

The  whigs  also  held  a  caucus,  at  which  they  adopted 
an  able  address  and  some  spirited  resolutions. 

The  democratic  party  succeeded  at  the  charter  elec- 
tion in  Albany.  At  the  charter  election  in  New  York 
the  democratic  ticket  was  equally  successful.  The 
democrats  obtained  a  large  majority  in  the  common 
council,  and  also  elected  ROBERT  H.  MORRIS  for  mayor, 
who  only  two  years  before  had  been  removed  from  the 
office  of  recorder  of  that  city,  by  Gov.  Seward  and  the 
senate,  for  his  conduct  in  relation  to  the  Glentworth 
papers. 

On  the  5th  of  Seoternber,  a  convention  of  delegates 


1843.]  BTATE  CONVENTION.  365 

from  all  the  counties  in  the  state  assembled  at  Syracuse, 
for  the  purpose  of  electing  delegates  from  the  state  of 
New  York  to  represent  the  democratic  party  of  the  state 
in  the  national  convention  at  Baltimore,  to  nominate  a 
president  and  vice-president  of  the  United  States.  The 
convention  was  called  to  order  by  Mr.  Gardner,  of  Sara- 
toga ;  and  upon  a  ballot  for  a  president  of  the  conven- 
tion, William  L.  Marcy  received  79  votes,  and  Samuel 
\  oung,  40.  Mr.  Marcy  was  of  course  declared  elected. 

Some  discussion  took  place,  whether  the  delegates 
should  be  chosen  by  the  convention,  that  is  to  say,  by 
general  ticket,  or  in  congressional  districts  ;  but  on  this 
question  the  assembly  were  nearly  unanimous  in  favor 
of  the  choice  by  general  ticket.  There  were  but  nine- 
teen votes  against  that  mode,  and  three  of  the  nineteen, 
Judge  Oliver,  of  Yates  county,  Mr.  Redfield,  of  Genesee, 
and  Mr.  Dean,  of  Putnam,  declared  that  they  thus  voted 
because  they  were  so  instructed  by  their  constituents.* 

The  delegates  were  instructed  to  support  Martin  Van 
Buren  for  president. 

Among  the  resolutions  which  the  convention  adopted 
we  observe  one  which  declares  that  "the  democracy 
repose  full  confidence  in  the  capacity,  integrity,  fideli- 
ty, and  patriotism  of  WILLIAM  C.  BOUCK,  and  that  in 
him  and  the  other  distinguished  individuals  associated 
with  him  in  the  state  administration,  the  convention  rec- 
ognise a  true  devotion  to  the  wishes  and  welfare  of  the 
people." 

*  This  decision  is  entitled  to  the  more  respect,  because  it  was  conceded 
that  if  the  delegates  had  been  chosen  by  congressional  districts,  every  one 
of  them  would  have  supported  Mr.  Van  Buren,  who  was  unanimously  rec- 
ommended by  the  convention  as  the  candidate  for  the  presidency  who 
ought  to  be  supported  by  the  New  York  delegation. 


366  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OK  NEW  YORK.  [1813. 

Before  the  adjournment,  RICHARD  D.  DAVIS,  from 
Dutchess  county,  of  whom  we  have  formerly  spoken,* 
and  who  was  a  delegate  from  the  county  of  Dutchess, 
delivered  a  powerful  and  eloquent  address,  for  which 
he  received  the  thanks  of  the  convention. 

It  is  with  deep  and  painful  regret  that  we  record  the 
death  of  WILLIAM  RUGER,  a  senator  from  Jefferson  coun- 
ty, whom  we  have  several  times  mentioned.  He  di^d 
on  the  22d  day  of  May,  after  an  illness  of  a  few  days. 
We  knew  him  well  from  his  boyhood.  He  was  a  self- 
made  man,  resolute  and  almost  stubborn  in  the  support 
of  his  principles,  but  honest,  and  sincerely  faithful  to 
those  for  whom  he  professed  friendship. 

We  have  also  to  notice  the  death  of  SMITH  THOMPSON, 
a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  of 
whom  we  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  speak  in  thr 
preceding  volumes  of  this  work.  It  is  unnecessary  for 
us  to  say  he  was  an  able,  learned,  and  independent  jurist. 
Hjs  opinions  contained  in  our  reports,  and  his  public  life, 
afford  the  best  evidence  of  this.  We  will  only  add,  that 
we  cordially  concur  in  the  following  obituary  notice  of 
his  death  by  Mr.  Croswell : 

"  It  is  with  deep  regret  that  we  announce  the  death 
of  the  Hon.  Smith  Thompson,  one  of  the  associate  jus- 
tices of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  He 
expired  at  his  residence  in  Poughkeepsie,  after  a  pro- 
tracted illness,  on  the  afternoon  of  Monday  last,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  seventy-six  years. 

"Judge  Thompson  filled  the  station  he  held  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  through  a  period  of  twenty  years, 
having  been  called  to  the  post  upon  the  death  of  Judge 
Brockholst  Livingston  in  1823.  He  had  previously  held 

»  2  Political  History,  p.  527. 


1813.]  RESULT  OF  THE   ELECTION.  307 

successively  the  offices  of  district-attorney  of  the  old 
middle  district,  associate  and  chief-justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  (succeeding  Chief-justice  Kent,  in  the  lat- 
ter station,  upon  his  elevation  to  the  chancellorship,)  am! 
secretary  of  the  navy  under  Mr.  Monroe. 

"  Judge  Thompson  was  peculiarly  fitted  by  his  ex- 
tended legal  knowledge,  and  his  cool  and  clear-headed 
sagacity  for  the  station,  of  which  he  was  so  long  an  ac- 
knowledged ornament — while  the  eminent  purity  of  his 
life  reflected  additional  lustre  upon  his  public  career. 
The  death  of  such  a  man,  thus  exalted  in  his  official  and 
private  relations,  will  long  be  lamented  as  a  public  ca- 
lamity. 

"  The  courts  in  session  in  the  city  of  New  York,  upon 
receiving  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Judge  Thomp- 
son, in  respect  for  his  memory  and  virtues,  adjourned 
over." 

The  feuds  that  prevailed  at  Albany,  and  among  the 
democratic  members  of  the  legislature,  did  not  to  any 
extent  affect  the  people  in  the  country  counties.  They 
were,  it  is  true,  felt  in  the  county  of  Oneida;  but  there  the 
hunkers  seem,  at  that  time,  to  have  held  a  majority  over 
both  whigs  and  radicals.  However,  Mr.  Horatio  Seymour, 
who  was  very  popular,  was  a  candidate  for  the  assem- 
bly frorn.  the  city  of  Utica,  and  undoubtedly  added  great 
strength  to  the  ticket ;  besides,  we  believe  both  parties 
at  that  time  in  Oneida  county  held  themselves  bound  by 
regular  nominations. 

That  the  divisions  in  Albany  did  nut  affect  the  elec- 
tion in  the  state,  is  proved  by  the  general  result.  Nearly 
three  to  one  of  the  members  returned  to  the  assembly 
were  democrats ;  and  in  eight  senatorial  districts,  the 
democratic  party  succeeded  in  all  except  the  eighth.  The 


368  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1843. 

senate  after  this  election  contained  twenty-six  demo- 
crats and  only  six  whigs. 

David  R.  F.  Jones  was  elected  from  the  first  senato- 
rial district,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Franklin  ;  Joshua  B. 
Smith,  from  the  second,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Hunter ; 
Stephen  C.  Johnson,  from  the  third,  in  the  place  of  Gen. 
Root;  Orville  Clark,  from  the  fourth,  in  the  place  of  Mr. 
Hopkins ;  Thomas  Barlow,  from  the  fifth,  in  the  place 
of  Mr.  Ely,  and  George  C.  Sherman,  to  fill  the  vacancy 
occasioned  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Ruger  ;  Clark  Burnham, 
from  the  sixth,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Dickinson  ;  Albert 
Lester,  from  the  seventh,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Sherwood; 
and  Frederick  F.  Backus,  from  the  eighth,  in  the  place 
of  Mr.  Dixon. 


1844.]  LEGISLATURE  OF  1844.  309 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Character  of  Leadiug  Members  of  the  Legislature  of  1844 — Democratic 
Caucus  for  Speaker — Mr.  Liltlefield  nominated  and  elected— James  R. 
Rese  elected  Clerk — Governor's  Mepsage — Meeting  at  Albany  of  the 
friends  of  a  Convention — Formation  of  the  Committees  of  the  Assembly 
— Mr.  Foster's  Resolution  for  the  Reduction  of  Postage — Mr.  Foster 
elected  President  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate — Death  of  Judge  Cowen — 
Samuel  Beards-ley  appointed  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court — Death  of 
G»n.  P.  B  Porter— James  V.  L.  Pruyn  and  James  J.  Wadsworf  h  ap- 
pointed Regents  of  the  University — J.  P.  Cushman  resigns  the  office  of 
Circuit  Judge,  and  A.  J.  Parker  appointed  his  successor — Mr.  Farring- 
ton  appointed  Treasurer — J.  C.  Spencer  nominated  Associate  Justice  of 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court — His  nomination  is  rejected  by  the 
Senate — Causes — Silas  Wright  nominated  for  same  Office — He  declines 
— Nomination  of  Chancellor  Walworth  for  same  Office — Afterwards 
the  Chancellor's  name  withdrawn  by  the  President,  when  Judge  Nel- 
son was  nominated  and  appointed. 

1844.  As  the  condition  and  movements  of  the  political 
parties  and  sections  of  parties  in  the  legislature  in  this  and 
the  succeeding  year,  will  become,  as  we  proceed  in  our 
story,  highly  interesting,  and  as  the  result  of  their  action 
produced  important  and  momentous  consequences,  it 
may  be  proper  in  the  outset,  to  present  a  sketch  of  the 
characters  of  the  leading  and  active  members  of  the  le- 
gislature. Of  the  state  officers,  we  have  spoken  in  the 
preceding  chapter. 

By  the  expiration  of  the  terms  of  office  of  Gen.  Root, 

James  G.  Hopkins,  and  Andrew  B.  Dickinson,  the  whigs 

had  lost  much  of  the  talent  they  formerly  had  in  the 

senate.     True,  Mr.  Hard  and  Mr.  Rhoades,  of  whom 

24 


370  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844 

we  have  heretofore  spoken,  were  there.  Mr.  Nehemiah 
Platt,  of  Tioga  county,  a  man  of  sound  mind  and  great 
personal  worth,  but  who  did  not  take  a  very  active  part 
in  legislative  proceedings  or  party  operations,  also  re- 
mained in  the  senate.  Mr.  Harvey  Putnam,  a  lawyer 
and  wealthy  banker  from  Attica,  was  a  shrewd,  saga- 
cious political  manager,  and  when  he  chose  to  take  the 
trouble,  could  debate  a  question  with  ability  and  great 
ingenuity.  Mr.  Samuel  Works,  also  a  whig  senator 
from  the  eighth  district,  was  a  practical  farmer.  He  is 
said  to  be  a  man  of  great  native  sagacity.  Although  he 
seldom  attempted  to  take  a  part  in  debate,  he  possessed 
considerable  influence  with  his  friends  in  the  legislature, 
and  great  popularity  at  home.  If  we  mistake  not,  he 
was  a  veteran  antimason,  and  may  be  considered  at  that 
time  as  the  only  remaining  representative  of  that  by- 
gone party. 

In  the  assembly  the  whigs  had  very  few  representa- 
tives ;  but  among  them  were  two  men  of  distinguished 
ability.  We  do  not  intend  to  imply  by  this  that  the 
other  whig  members  were  destitute  of  talents ;  we  pre- 
sume they  were  all,  and  we  know  some  of  them  were, 
men  of  great  worth  and  respectable  attainments,  and 
competent  legislators.  The  two  members  to  whom  we 
allude  are  Samuel  Stevens  of  Albany  and  Archibald  L. 
Linn.  Of  Mr.  Stevens,  we  have  spoken  in  a  preceding 
volume.  He  now  supplied,  and  very  ably  supplied,  the 
place  of  his  immediate  predecessor  from  Albany,  the 
talented  and  much-esteemed  late  attorney-general,  Wil- 
lis Hall. 

Mr.  LINN,  we  believe,  was  at  that  time  mayor  of  the 
city  of  Schenectady,  and  had  lately  been  a  member  of 
congress  from  the  district  of  which  Schenectady  is  a 


1844.]  LEGISLATURE  OP  1844.  371 

part,  and  while  at  Washington  had  acquired  a  respect- 
able standing  and  character  in  the  house  of  representa- 
tives. Although  zealously  attached  to  the  whig  party, 
and  firm  in  the  support  of  the  whig  cause,  the  dignity 
of  his  deportment,  his  candor  and  courtesy  as  a  member 
of  the  assembly,  gave  him,  though  his  party  was  greatly 
in  the  minority,  considerable  influence  in  that  body. 

In  the  senate,  the  democratic  party,  including  both 
sections  of  it,  possessed  much  talent,  and  we  may  add 
personal  worth. 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR  DICKINSON  had  been  a  suc- 
cessful lawyer,  and  had  formerly  been  a  member  of  the 
senate.  In  both  situations  he  had  acquitted  himself 
creditably,  and  acquired  a  reputation  for  much  more 
than  ordinary  talents.  He  was  active  and  energetic, 
both  as  a  legislator  and  politician.  As  evidence  of  the 
superior  grade  of  his  native  talents,  it  is  proper  to  state 
that  he  was  bred  a  mechanic,  and  did  not  commence  the 
practice  of  law  until  after  he  was  married  and  had  a 
family.  Upon  being  admitted  to  the  bar  he  in  a  very 
short  time  acquired  an  extensive  practice.  He  was  a 
decided  friend  of  Governor  Bouck,  and  at  the  election 
of  1842  reluctantly  consented,  through  the  pressing  soli- 
citude of  friends,  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  office  of 
lieutenant-governor.  His  friends  were  the  more  urgent 
because  they  believed  that  the  influence  of  his  name, 
especially  in  the  southwestern  tier  of  counties,  would 
add  essentially  to  the  probability  of  success  of  the  guber- 
natorial ticket. 

We  have  heretofore  mentioned  Judge  SCOTT  from 
New  York.  He  belonged  to  the  radical  party  ;  he  was 
a  sound-minded,  though  not  a  brilliant  man.  Though 
candid  and  frank  in  declaring  his  principles  as  a  politi- 


372  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1844. 

cian,  he  was  resolute  and  unyielding  in  his  adherence  to 
them. 

D.  R.  FLOYD  JONES,  also  from  the  city  of  New  York, 
had  been  a  member  of  the  assembly  from  that  city  the 
preceding  session.  He  then  acted  with  the  hunker  par- 
ty, and  he  pursued  the  same  course  as  a  senator.  He 
is  the  grandson  of  that  celebrated  lawyer,  the  first  comp- 
troller, and  inherited  much  of  his  talents,  though  perhaps 
he  was  a  less  scheming  and  ardent  politician.*  Courteous 
in  his  deportment,  both  in  legislative  discussions,  in  which 
he  often  took  part,  and  in  his  social  intercourse,  he  de- 
served, and  we  presume  acquired,  the  friendship  and  re- 
spe'ct  of  all  parties. 

JOHN  A.  LOTT,  from  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  is  an  able 
lawyer,  and  was  one  of  the  most  useful  and  valuable 
members  of  the  senate.  His  industry  in  examining,  his 
accuracy  in  framing,  and  his  care  in  passing  laws,  to- 
gether with  his  untiring  efforts  to  guard  against  hasty 
and  imprudent  legislation,  enabled  him  to  render  essen- 
tial service  to  the  state.  "  He  enjoyed,"  says  a  corre- 
spondent, "  in  a  high  degree  the  respect  and  good-will 
of  all  sections  and  parties."  He  was  a  hunker. 

Of  ROBERT  DENNISON,  from  the  second  district,  we 
have  had,  and  shall  hereafter  have,  frequent  occasion  to 
speak.  At  present  we  will  merely  remark,  that  he  was 
shrewd  and  sagacious,  an  ardent  and  zealous  politician, 
and  indomitable  in  maintaining  and  defending  his  prin- 
ciples, and  in  the  pursuit  of  his  political  projects. 

We  have  no  personal  knowledge  of  ABRAHAM  BOCKEE, 
of  Dutchess  county.  All  we  know  of  him  is  what  ap- 
pears in  the  reports  of  the  proceedings  in  the  senate, 


«  See  1  Political  History,  p.  75  :  also  p.  104 


1844.1  LEGISLATURE  OF  1844.  378 

and  his  published  opinions  given  in  the  Court  for  the 
Correction  of  Errors.  These,  however,  prove  him  to  be 
a  man  of  decided  talents.  From  the  time  he  became  a 
member  of  the  senate  until  the  session  of  1846,  when 
the  convention  bill  came  before  the  senate,  he  acted 
with  the  hunker  party,  and  was  considered  as  belonging 
to  it.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  regarded  as  a  radical. 

We  have  several  times  mentioned  HARVEY  W.  STRONG, 
and  intimated  our  views  of  his  talents  and  character  as 
a  legislator.  "  He  was,"  says  a  liberal  and  intelligent 
correspondent  who  belongs  to  the  hunker  party,  "  an 
excellent  debater,  and  a  leading  member  among  the 
friends  of  the  state  officers." 

ERASTUS  CORNING,  a  merchant  of  high  standing  and 
character  from  the  city  of  Albany,  though  he  did  not 
mingle  much  in  debate,  was,  from  his  knowledge  of 
commercial  and  moneyed  operations,  a  very  useful  and 
highly  influential  member  of  the  senate.  In  1842  he 
was  zealous  for  the  passage  of  the  financial  bill  of  that 
year.  His  extensive  knowledge  of  the  condition  and 
operation  of  the  banks  and  of  the  money-market,  not 
only  of  this  country  but  of  Europe,  enabled  him  to  fore- 
see that  a  radical  reform  in  the  expenditures  of  the  state 
was  absolutely  necessary,  in  order  to  preserve  its  credit 
from  total  prostration.  He  hoVvever  acted  with  the 
hunker  party ;  and  from  his  profound  knowledge  of  men, 
his  great  native  sagacity,  and  the  caution  and  prudence 
which  marked  his  conduct,  he  exercised  a  great  influ- 
ence in  the  legislature,  not  only  with  his  fellow-demo- 
crats, but  with  the  whigs. 

JOHN  C.  WRIGHT,  of  Schoharie,  and  THOMAS  B. 
MITCHELL,  of  Montgomery  county,  were  both  of  them 
lawyers  in  good  standing,  and  friends  to  the  governor 


374  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

Mr.  Wright  afterwards  distinguished  himself  in  the  bit- 
ter and  almost  personal  contest  with  Col.  Young,  in 
which  he  acquitted  himself  with  skill  and  ability,  though 
it  is  to  be  regretted  that  too  much  unkind  personal  feel- 
ing was  exhibited  during  that  discussion. 

Mr.  Mitchell  was  more  reserved,  and  did  not  mingle 
so  much  in  the  debates  as  his  talents  and  address  would 
have  warranted.  He  left  the  senate  with  a  character 
respectable  for  talents  and  usefulness.  He  was  a  warm 
and  zealous  hunker. 

GEN.  ORVILLE  CLARK,  from  Warren  county,  also  be- 
longed to  the  hunker  party.  He  took  a  very  active  part 
in  all  the  proceedings  of  the  senate,  and  was  a  man  of 
as  much  colloquial  power  and  as  great  fluency,  perhaps, 
as  any  member  of  that  body. 

HENRY  A.  FOSTER,  from  Oneida  county,  who,  in  1837, 
was  a  member  of  congress,  was  a  leading  democratic 
senator,  and  a  hunker.  Had  we,  in  this  brief  review  of 
the  senate  in  1844,  arranged  the  members  according  to 
their  reputation  for  talents,  Mr.  Foster  ought  undoubt- 
edly to  have  been  placed  at  the  head  of  the  list.  In  de- 
bate he  is  truly  formidable.  The  rapid  and  effective 
action  of  his  intellectual  power,  his  retentive  memory, 
his  ready  recollection  of  facts  and  even  dates,  combined 
with  his  sharp  and  caustic  style  of  speaking,  made  him 
respected  and  feared  by  his  opponents,  and  the  admired 
champion  of  his  friends.  A  personal  and  political  friend 
of  Mr.  Foster,  in  a  letter  to  the  author,  concludes  a  very 
laudatory  description  of  him  by  saying  :  "  His  great  de- 
fect as  a  party  leader  is  the  reserve  of  his  disposition, 
which  prevents  him  from  combining  his  friends  in  an 
effective  manner." 

GEORGE  C.  SHERMAN,  the  successor  of  Mr.  Ruger,  took 


1844.]  LEGISLATURE  OF  1844.  375 

sides  with  the  radical  party,  although  when  he  was 
elected  it  was  supposed  (though  we  do  not  know  that 
such  was  the  case  with  his  immediate  constituents)  that 
his  predilections  were  with  the  hunkers.  We  have  no 
personal  knowledge  of  him,  but  have  heard  him  spoken 
of  as  a  shrewd,  managing  man. 

THOMAS  BARLOW  was  nominated  and  elected  a  sena- 
tor while  he  was  county-superintendent  of  common 
schools  of  the  county  of  Madison.  Probably  his  zeal 
and  efficiency  in  the  cause  of  popular  education  was 
one  means  of  introducing  him  into  political  life.  After 
he  became  a  member  of  the  senate,  he  did  not  lose  the 
interest  he  had  formerly  manifested  in  the  improvement 
of  common  schools  ;  on  the  contrary  he  continued,  while 
in  that  station,  their  faithful  and  zealous  advocate.  On 
all  questions  which  arose  in  the  senate  involving  private 
rights  or  human  liberty,  Mn  Barlow  was  their  active 
and  efficient  defender.  He  ultimately  connected  him- 
self with  the  radicals. 

We  had  not  much  personal  knowledge  of  WILLIAM 
BARTLIT,  of  the  seventh  district,  but  our  predilections 
were  decidedly  favorable  to  his  head  and  heart.  We 
are  not  aware  that  he  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  sen- 
ate. Notwithstanding  the  sharp  and  unpleasant  contest 
he  had  with  his  colleague,  Mr.  Porter,  we  think  his  dis- 
position inclined  him  more  to  friendly  social  intercourse 
than  to  political,  and  especially  personal  collisions.  He 
made  an  unsuccessful,  but  we  have  no  doubt  sincere 
effort,  to  reconcile  the  differences  between  Messrs.  Cros- 
well  and  Van  Dyck.  Mr.  Bartlit  was  a  hunker. 

Of  ALBERT  LESTER,  our  worthy  and  estimable  corre- 
spondent, belonging  to  the  hunker  party,  thus  speaks  : — 
"  He  was  a  sound  lawyer,  and  an  upright  man  in  his 


376  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

private  transactions.  As  a  member  of  the  senate  he 
was  very  valuable  for  his  industry,  his  care  in  framing 
laws,  and  his  constant  and  vigilant  attention  to  legisla- 
tive business.  His  acerbity  of  temper  and  strong  preju- 
dices too  frequently  warped  his  judgment."  We  can 
very  readily  believe  that  the  temper  of  an  honest  man, 
however  benevolent  he  might  naturally  be,  thrown  into 
the  vortex  of  New  York  politics,  might  become  soured, 
and  that  he  might  also  become  unreasonably  suspicious 
of  the  motives  of  his  opponents ;  but  we  doubt  not  that  the 
impulses  of  Mr.  Lester's  heart  were  honest  and  patriotic; 
and  though  these  impulses  may  have  sometimes  misled 
his  judgment,  with  our  correspondent  we  believe  he  was 
a  "  valuable"  member  of  the  senate. 

JOHN  PORTER,  of  Cayuga,  was  also  an  excellent  law- 
yer, and  decidedly  a  man  of  talents.  He  was  not 
wordy  :  he  possessed  a  clear,  discriminating,  logical 
mind.  He  was,  and  is,  no  doubt,  strictly  an  honest  man ; 
but  either  from  the  constitution  of  his  mental  faculties, 
or  from  some  physical  defect  in  the  organization  of  his 
nervous  system,  he  was  extremely  acrid  and  irritable, 
and  so  much  so  that  it  impaired  his  influence,  and  pre- 
vented his  being  as  useful,  either  to  his  political  friends 
or  to  the  state  in  general,  as  his  conceded  ability,  both 
natural  and  acquired,  and  his  integrity  of  purpose  would 
otherwise  have  rendered  him. 

The  quiet  and  peaceable  days  enjoyed  by  any  coun- 
try are  unquestionably  the  most  prosperous  ;  and  yet. 
such  periods  furnish  no  materials  for  the  historian. 
Those  who  administer  the  government  during  such 
times  scarcely  obtain  a  place  in  history,  notwithstand- 
ing peace  and  prosperity  may  have  been  produced  by 
their  wisdom  and  virtue.  In  like  manner  some  of  the 


1844.]  LEGISLATURE  OF  1844.  377 

most  useful  members  of  a  legislative  body,  who  merely 
give  their  advice  to  those  who  consult  them,  and  vote 
according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  consciences,  are 
frequently  lost  sight  of  in  the  bustle  and  strife  of  politi- 
cal gladiators,  and  the  din  of  contending  partisans.  Of 
this  description  were  several  of  the  senators  whose 
names  we  have  not  mentioned,  among  whom  we  cannot 
refrain  from  alluding  to  the  modest  and  amiable  CLARK 
BUBNHAM,  of  Chenango,  and  the  sagacious  and  kind- 
hearted  CARLOS  P.  SCOVIL,  of  Lewis  county. 

Neither  our  space  nor  the  time  of  our  reader,  would 
permit  us  to  describe,  with  minuteness,  the  efficient  and 
influential  democratic  members  of  the  assembly  of  1844. 
It  is,  however,  necessary  to  mention  a  few  of  them  by 
name,  but  we  hope  it  will  not  therefore  be  inferred  that 
there  were  not  many  other  members  of  that  body  who 
distinguished  themselves  during  the  session,  and  had  an 
important  agency  in  influencing  the  action  of  that  branch 
of  the  legislature. 

We  shall  first  invite  attention  to  MICHAEL  HOFFMAN, 
of  Herkimer ;  and  we  cannot  better  describe  him  than 
by  copying  from  a  reliable  correspondent  who  belonged 
to  a  section  of  the  democratic  party  adverse  to  that  to 
which  Mr.  Hoffman  was  attached,  and  who  was  himself 
a  member  of  the  assembly  during  that  session  :  "  Al- 
though," says  our  correspondent,  "Mr.  Hoffman  failed 
in  procuring  a  nomination  for  the  speakership,  he  exer- 
cised a  powerful  influence  in  the  house.  The  distin- 
guished position  he  had  occupied  in  the  legislature 
of  1842  in  connection  with  the  financial  policy  of 
the  state,  his  parliamentary  knowledge,  and  his  ability 
in  debate,  gave  him  great  weight,  and  rendered  him  a 
formidable  opponent.  Mr.  Hoffman  is  a  man  of  ardent, 


378  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

and  I  might  say  chivalrous,  temperament.  He  is  very 
animated,  and  has  remarkable  powers  of  denunciation. 
These  powers  he  usually  exerts,  and  these  denuncia- 
tions he  usually  bestows  upon  measures  rather  than 
men.  He  is  courteous  towards  his  opponents,  and  gives 
a  dignified  and  parliamentary  tone  to  the  discussions  in 
which  he  engages." 

We  heartily  concur  with  these  remarks.  We  will, 
however,  add,  that  Mr.  Hoffman  is  a  learned  and  able 
lawyer,  and  that,  as  might  be  expected,  from  the  name 
he  bears  and  the  nation  from  which  he  is  a  descendant, 
when  once  he  forms  an  opinion,  he  is  irrevocably  at- 
tached to  it  with  a  tenacity  which  almost  amounts  to 
stubbornness. 

Next  to  Mr.  Hoffman,  who  we  hardly  need  say  was 
the  leader  of  the  radicals,  we  must  mention  HORATIO 
SEYMOUR,  who  now  for  the  second  time  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  assembly  from  the  county  of  Oneida. 

We  have,  we  believe,  before  remarked,  that  Horatio 
Seymour  is  the  son  of  that  excellent  legislator  and  ca- 
nal commissioner,  the  late  Hon.  Henry  Seymour.  Mr. 
Seymour,  of  whom  we  speak,  entered  the  legislature  in 
1842.  He  was  then  quite  young.  He  had  read  law, 
but  having  had  a  large  estate  cast  upon  him,  as  one  of 
the  heirs  of  his  father,  and  in  right  of  his  wife,  who  is  a 
daughter  of  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  Albany,  thev 
care  of  his  property  engrossed  so  much  of  his  time  that 
he  paid  little  attention  to  his  profession,  and  never  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  it ;  but  his  literary  attainments  are 
varied  and  respectable,  and  he  probably  very  early  ac- 
quired a  taste  for  politics  and  for  public  life.  We  have 
seldom  known  a  man  who  possessed  higher  and  better 
qualifications  for  usefulness  and  success  in  a  populai 


1814.]  LEGISLATURE  OF  1844.  379 

government  than  Horatio  Seymour.  Kind  and  social 
by  nature,  affable  in  his  deportment,  possessing  a  shrewd, 
discerning  mind,  fluent,  and  at  times  eloquent  in  debate, 
enlarged  in  his  views,  liberal  almost  to  a  fault  to  his  op- 
ponents, and  fascinating  in  his  address,  Ho  man  seemed 
better  calculated  to  acquire  an  influence  in  a  legislative 
body  than  he,  and  few,  indeed,  at  his  time  of  life,  have 
in  fact  acquired  a  better  standing  or  more  substantial 
moral  power.  He  had  early  made  himself  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  great  and  varied  interests  of  the  state 
of  New  York,  an  acquisition  which  aided  him  much  in 
debate,  and  gave  him  an  advantage  over  older  members, 
and  which,  at  the  same  time,  enabled  him  to  render  ser- 
vices in  legislation  highly  useful  and  beneficial  to  the 
state. 

We  have  no  personal  knowledge  of  WILLIAM  F.  AL- 
LEN, of  Oswego,  who  was  a  member  of  the  assembly  in 
1844,  but  is  now  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  That 
he  is  a  man  of  decided  talent  is  well  known.  He  was  a 
friend  of  Gov.  Bouck,  although  on  some  questions  which 
arose  in  the  assembly,  he  voted  with  Mr.  Hoffman  against 
what  were  understood  to  be  the  views  of  the  governor. 

JOSEPH  F.  BOSWORTH,  from  the  city  of  New  York, 
was,  beyond  doubt,  one  of  the  ablest  men  in  either  of 
the  legislative  houses.  "  He  was,"  says  a  correspond- 
ent, who  was  a  fellow-member  of  the  assembly  with  Mr. 
Bosworth,  "an  excellent  lawyer  and  a  good  debater. 
His  course  in  the  legislature  was  peculiar.  He  some- 
times acted  with  one  section  of  the  democratic  party, 
and  sometimes  with  the  other.  He  has  since  been  per- 
manent and  decided,  having  attached  himself  to  the 
hunker  section." 

Of  CALVIN  T.  HULBURD,  of  St.  Lawrence  county,  at 


380  POLITICAL  HISTOEY  OF  NEW  YOBK.  [1844. 

present  we  will  only  remai'k,  that  he  was  a  man  of  en- 
larged and  liberal  views — that  his  desire  for  the  general 
good  elevated  him  above  the  petty  trickery  of  party. 
So  predominant  in  his  mind  were  the  principles  of  be- 
nevolence, that' we  were  going  to  say  he  could  not,  if  he 
would,  give  up  to  party  those  intellectual  powers  which 
"  were  meant  for  mankind."  He  belonged  to  the  radi- 
cal party  ;  but  a  hunker  correspondent,  who  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  assembly  with  Mr.  Hulburd,  thus  writes  of 
him  : — "  Mr.  Hulburd  was  an  able  man,  and  distinguish- 
ed himself  in  the  measure  of  the  establishment  of  a  state 
normal  school,  which  he  advocated  with  ability  and 
success." 

ASHLEY  SAMPSON,  of  Rochester,  was,  and  we  believe 
continues  to  be,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  members 
of  the  bar  in  Western  New  York.  The  business  of 
legislation  was  new  to  him ;  but  he  possesses  a  dry, 
quiet  humor,  which  rendered  his  public  speeches  amu- 
sing and  effective.  The  house  always  heard  him  with 
pleasure. 

Besides  the  gentlemen  we  have  named,  there  were 
AMBROSE  L.  PINNY,  from  Dutchess,  LEONARD  LEE,  from 
Orange,  GEORGE  S.  GORHAM,  from  Otsego,  and  CLARK 
B.  COCKRAN,  from  Montgomery,  and  several  others  who 
took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  house. 
Several  of  these  gentlemen,  and  especially  the  member 
last  named,  distinguished  themselves  very  creditably, 
and  afforded  great  promise  of  future  usefulness  in  public 
life. 

That  able  and  eloquent  lawyer,  SAMUEL  STEVENS, 
from  Albany,  whom  we  have  several  times  mentioned, 
and  therefore  need  not  here  describe,  confessedly  stood 
at  the  head  of  the  whig  party  in  the  house,  and  as  a  man 


1844.]  LEGISLATURE  OF  184  381 

of  talents  and  an  able  legislator,  was  justly  regarded  as 
holding  a  high,  if  not  the  highest,  rank  in  the  assembly. 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  HALL  had  been  elected  from  Cay- 
uga  county,  which,  before  the  election,  was  believed  to  be 
strongly  democratic,  irf  consequence  of  some  local  dis- 
sensions in  that  county,  and  probably  partly  by  reason 
of  the  personal  popularity  of  himself  and  his  colleagues. 
Mr.  Hall  was  a  lawyer  of  respectable  standing  and  char- 
acter, and  a  zealous  and  active  whig.  He  belonged  to 
that  school  of  whig  politicians  of  which  Gov.  Seward  is 
the  head,  and  had  favored  not  only  the  views  of  Mr. 
Seward  as  to  internal  improvements  and  legal  reform, 
but  his  opinions  in  relation  to  schools  for  the  children  of 
foreigners.  On  the  subject  of  constitutional  reform, 
Mr.  Hall  had  before  his  election  declared,  that  material 
changes  in  the  existing  constitution  were  necessary, 
which,  in  his  judgment,  could  never  be  effected  by  legis- 
lative recommendations,  and,  therefore,  that  a  conven- 
tion was  indispensable.  It  will  hereafter  be  perceived, 
that  during  the  session  about  which  we  are  now  writing, 
he  made  a  vigorous  effort  to  carry  into  effect  his  views. 

Upon  a  review  of  our  notice  of  the  members  of  the 
assembly,  we  find  we  have  omitted  to  mention  one 
member  (and  we  presume  many  others)  who  deserves 
especial  attention.  That  member  is  THOMAS  G.  AL- 
VORD,  of  the  county  of  Onondaga.  He,  although  a  new 
member,  evinced  great  energy  of  character  and  inde- 
pendence of  principle,  and  exercised  an  efficient  in- 
fluence during  the  session. 

There  were,  at  the  election  in  the  preceding  Novem- 
ber, 92  democratic  members  elected  to  the  assembly. 
The  legislature  was  to  organize  on  Tuesday,  the  sec* 
ond  day  of  January,  but  a  large  portion  of  the  members, 


382  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

probably  a  majority  of  them,  arrived  in  Albany  on  Sat- 
urday, and  from  that  time  until  Monday  evening  an 
excited  canvass  for  speaker  was  kept  up  among  the 
democratic  members. 

ELISHA  LITCHFIELD,  of  Onondaga,  and  Horatio  Sey- 
mour, of  Oneida,  had  each  their  respective  friends 
among  the  hunkers.  Mr.  Litchfield  had  been  a  mem- 
ber of  congress,  and  long  known,  in  the  section  of  the 
state  where  he  resided,  as  a  man  of  great  worth  and 
weight  of  character ;  but  we  think  the  most  intelligent  men 
of  the  hunker  party  would,  even  at  that  time,  have  pre- 
ferred Mr.  Seymour.  Nevertheless,  that  sagacious  and 
far-seeing  politician,  Edwin  Croswell,  and  other  reflect- 
ing men,  perceived  the  advantage  which  would  be  gain- 
ed by  identifying  with  them,  in  a  great  central  western 
county,  strongly  democratic  as  Onondaga  was,  a  man 
of  Mr.  Litchfield's  weight  of  character  and  long  stand- 
ing in  the  democratic  party.  Mr.  Seymour  himself  saw 
the  propriety  and  policy  of  the  measure,  and  before  the 
caucus,  declined  to  be  a  competitor.  The  radicals  were 
also  divided.  A  part  of  them  were  for  Mr.  Hulburd ; 
but  the  majority  were  of  opinion  that  Mr.  Hoffman,  the 
great  champion  of  their  favorite  financial  system,  ought 
to  be  supported.  The  stronger  feeling  was  for  Mr. 
Hulburd,  but  he  would  not  consent  that  his  claims  should 
be  urged,  and  that  wing  of  the  democratic  party,  before 
the  caucus  assembled,  united  upon  Mr.  Hoffman.  Had 
he  been  permitted  to  decline,  (we  cannot  believe  that 
Mr.  Hoffman  felt  much  personal  interest  in  the  ques- 
tion,) and  had  he  used  his  influence  in  favor  of  Mr.  Hul- 
burd, we  were  at  the  time,  and  are  now  inclined  to  the 
opinion,  that  such  was  the  personal  kindness  and  friend- 
ship felt  for  Mr.  Hulburd,  he  would  have  been  nominated 


1844.]  DEMOCRATIC  CAUCUS.  383 

Ninety-one  of  the  ninety-two  democratic  members 
elected,  met  in  caucus  on  Monday  evening,  when,  upon 
balloting  for  speaker,  Mr.  Litchfield  received  fifty-six 
votes,  and  Mr.  Hoffman  thirty-five  ;  and  one  vote  was 
given  for  Mr.  Redington,  of  St.  Lawrence.  On  motion 
of  Mr.  Hoffman,  Mr.  Litchfield  was  declared  unani- 
mously nominated. 

Mr.  James  R.  Rose,  after  three  ballotings,  was  nomi- 
nated clerk,  against  Mr.  Wales,  who  was  the  most  for- 
midable candidate  in  opposition  to  him. 

When  the  house  met  the  next  day,  Mr.  Litchfield  was 
elected  speaker.  He  received  90  votes,  and  Mr.  Ste- 
vens, the  whig  candidate,  received  28.  Mr.  Rose  was 
also  elected  clerk  against  Mr.  George  W.  Weed,  who 
was  supported  by  the  whigs,  by  a  vote  of  89  to  33. 

The  governor  in  his  message  states  the  public  debt  at 
$23,847, 167.62,  exclusive  of  available  means  in  the  hands 
of  the  commissioners  of  the  sinking  fund,  and  the  in- 
terest on  that  debt  at  $1,377,261.84.  The  canal  tolls 
the  preceding  year  amounted  to  $1,910,701.86.  He 
reviews  the  policy,  and  admits  the  necessity  of  the  tax 
law  of  1842,  and  with  regard  to  further  expenditures  for 
internal  improvement,  the  governor  remarks,  that  "  in 
view  of  the  large  expenditure  on  some  parts  of  the  pub- 
lic works,  and  the  comparatively  small  sums  required  to 
complete  them,  regrets  have  been  felt  in  some  quarters 
that  the  surplus  revenue  of  the  state  from  all  existing 
resources,  including  the  product  of  the  tax,  was  placed 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  officers  of  the  government,  or 
the  legislature,  by  the  solemn  pledges  of  that  law.  The 
means  of  doing  any  thing  more  at  this  time  than  ma- 
king all  needful  repairs,  and  keeping  the  canals  in  a 
good  navigable  condition,  cannot  be  obtained  without 


384  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

increasing  the  present  state  tax,  or  disregarding  the  pub- 
lic faith.  The  former  I  deem  highly  inexpedient,  and 
the  latter  entirely  inadmissible." 

He  nevertheless  adds : 

"  While  I  approve  of  the  present  policy  of  the  state 
forced  upon  us  by  the  exigencies  of  our  situation,  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  it  has  been  attended  with  some 
injurious  results.  Individuals  in  some  instances  have 
been  incommoded  by  the  unfinished  state  of  new  bridges, 
designed  to  take  the  place  of  old  ones  removed  ;  and  in 
several  places  roads  and  streets  have  been  so  obstruct- 
ed by  the  progress  or  changes  made  in  the  suspended 
works,  as  to  cause  considerable  public  inconvenience.  I 
do  not  doubt  that  the  legislature  will  feel  it  to  be  their 
duty  to  remove  all  just  grounds  of  complaint,  in  regard 
to  these  subjects.  What  is  necessary  to  be  done  for 
these  purposes,  cannot  be  regarded  in  any  other  light 
than  as  repairs,  and  the  inconsiderable  expenditure  re- 
quired can,  in  my  opinion,  be  made  without  a  departure 
from  the  policy  of  1842.  Where  new  structures  are  so 
nearly  finished  that  it  would  cost  less  to  complete  them 
than  to  keep  in  repair  the  old  ones  they  were  designed 
to  supersede,  they  should,  in  my  judgment,  be  put  in  a 
condition  to  be  used.  Whether  the  new  structures  shall 
be  brought  into  use  in  such  cases,  instead  of  sustaining 
the  old  ones,  is  only  a  question  as  to  the  best  mode  of 
making  repairs,  and  keeping  the  canals  in  a  good  navi- 
gable state,  and  where  economy  is  best  consulted  by 
completing  the  former,  that  course  should  be  pursued. 
Under  this  impression,  I  recommend  that  the  canal 
board  be  authorized  to  complete  such  new  works  as,  in 
their  opinion,  can  be  done  with  better  economy  than  to 
sustain  those  designed  to  be  superseded.  It  is  also 


1844.]  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  385 

proper  that  I  should  suggest  that  some  parts  of  the  new 
works  suspended  are  exposed,  in  the  condition  in  which 
they  are  left,  to  great  and  permanent  injury.  Where 
this  can  be  prevented,  at  an  inconsiderable  expense, 
compared  with  the  damages  likely  to  be  sustained,  good 
economy  requires  it  to  be  done.  I  commend  the  subject 
to  your  attention." 

It  is  obvious  that  the  governor  was  desirous,  on  the 
subject  of  expenditures  by  the  state,  to  take  a  cautious 
middle  course  between  the  extremes  of  the  two  sections 
of  his  own  party.  But  the  great  subject  discussed  by 
the  governor  in  his  message,  and  which  had,  for  some 
time  previous  to  the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  engaged 
the  attention  of  the  public,  was,  whether  a  convention 
should  be  called  to  revise  and  amend  the  constitution. 
This  measure  was  urged  principally  for  two  reasons  : — 

First.  From  the  increase  of  the  population  and  business 
of  the  state,  more  judicial  force,  and  a  different  organi- 
zation of  the  courts,  had  become  absolutely  necessary. 

Second.  A  general  opinion  began  now  to  prevail  that 
some  restrictions  on  the  power  of  the  legislature  to  loan 
the  money  or  the  credit  of  the  state  to  corporations,  or 
to  increase  the  public  debt  by  undertaking  to  construct 
new  roads  or  canals,  should  be  adopted  and  made  a  part 
of  the  organic  law. 

But  while  a  large  majority  of  the  people,  and  probably 
of  the  legislature,  conceded  that  these  alterations  in  the 
organic  law  were  necessary,  and  indeed  indispensable, 
when  any  specific  amendments  involving  these  princi- 
ples were  proposed  in  the  legislature,  they  differed  so 
much  about  the  details,  that  hitherto  they  had  been  un- 
able to  settle  upon  any  distinct  propositions  to  submit 
to  the  people,  which  could  obtain  the  support  of  a  con- 
25 


386  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [184  i. 

stitutional  majority  of  the  two  houses.  Hence  the 
friends  of  reform  insisted  that  a  convention  was  abso- 
lutely necessary. 

The  governor  in  his  message  took  ground  against  the 
call  of  a  convention,  and  argued  the  question  with  great 
ability.  He  admitted  that  the  constitution  required 
amendment  in  several  particulars,  and  especially  in  re- 
gard to  the  points  we  have  mentioned,  but  he  insisted 
that  all  the  necessary  amendments  could  be  made  if  a 
proper  spirit  of  compromise  should  prevail ;  and  he  be- 
lieved that  by  this  course  the  expense  and  hazard  of  in- 
viting a  convention  (for  an  act  for  calling  one  would  be 
a  proceeding  beyond  the  pale  of  the  constitution)  might 
be  avoided.  After  advising  specifically  several  amend- 
ments, the  governor  concludes  by  saying  : 

"  The  foregoing  suggestions  for  amending  the  consti- 
tution are  based  on  the  conviction  that  all  required  mod- 
ifications can  be  effected  in  the  manner  prescribed,  and 
that  the  people  prefer  the  established  and  economical 
mode  of  acting  upon  distinct  and  clearly-defined  propo- 
sitions ;  and  that  a  convention  can  only  be  necessary 
when  the  legislature  shall  fail  to  agree  upon  such  amend- 
ments as  may  be  demanded  by  the  popular  sentiment : 
and  even  in  that  case,  the  question  should  first  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  people." 

The  message,  taken  as  a  whole,  is  a  very  able  one,  and 
written  in  a  style  quite  superior  to  his  first  message. 

From  a  view  of  the  proceedings  of  the  legislature 
at  its  session  in  1843,  the  radicals  suspected,  and 
some  of  them  believed  that  an  association  had  been 
formed,  with  Governor  Bouck  at  its  head,  which  com- 
bined the  banking  and  internal  improvement  inter- 
ests, the  object  of  which  was  to  change  the  policy  estab- 


1844.]  CONSTITUTIONAL    REFORM.  381? 

lished  by  the  act  of  1842 ;  and  they  suggested  that  the 
resolutions  of  democratic  conventions  held  in  some  forty 
or  fifty  counties  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1842 
decidedly  and  warmly  approving  of  the  law  of  '42,  in- 
duced that  class  of  politicians  to  abandon  their  object 
and  hence  they  said  that  the  Argus,  in  October,  1843, 
announced  itself  in  "favor  of  Gov.  Bouck's  debt-paying 
policy."  Their  intentions  and  this  combination  were 
and  are  denied  by  the  hunkers.  If  such  combination 
ever  existed,  we  do  not  believe  all  the  members  or  even 
all  the  leaders  of  the  hunker  party  were  privy  to  it,  for 
we  have  conversed  with  more  than  one  gentleman  of 
veracity  of  that  party  who  deny  all  knowledge  of  such 
an  association. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  Mr.  Hoffman  and  Col. 
Young  believed  such  to  be  the  fact,  and  therefore  ar- 
rived at  the  conclusion  that  a  constitutional  convention, 
or  rather  a  constitutional  provision,  was  absolutely  ne- 
cessary in  order  to  secure  the  permanency  of  their  fa- 
vorite policy. 

We  say  Mr.  Hoffman  arrived  at  this  conclusion,  be- 
cause, soon  after  the  termination  of  the  general  election 
in  November,  1843,  about  fifty  radical  citizens  of  Alba- 
ny signed  a  call  for  a  meeting  at  the  capitol  for  the  pur- 
pose of  sustaining  the  cause  of  constitutional  reform, 
through  the  agency  of  a  state  convention.  The  meeting 
was  held  on  the  21st  of  November,  of  which  the  Hon. 
Bradford  R.  Wood  was  chairman.  The  following  were 
among  the  resolutions  adopted  by  that  meeting  : 

"  Resolved,  That  we  believe  the  constitution  of  this 
state  needs  revision  and  vital  and  elemental  modifica- 
tions, both  in  the  extent  of  the  power  to  be  delegated  by 
the  people  and  in  the  manner  of  its  administration  :  that 


388  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   VORK.  [1841. 

these  changes  include  the  entire  prohibition  of  the  right 
of  government  to  entail  a  public  debt  upon  the  people, 
except  in  time  of  war  or  insurrection,  without  their  con- 
sent expressed  directly  through  the  ballot-boxes ;  and 
also  the  right  to  erect  privileged  incorporations,  the 
members  of  which  shall  enjoy  a  dispensation  from  the 
ordinary  obligations  of  debt ;  that  they  also  contemplate 
the  limitation  of  the  central  power  of  government,  by  the 
return  to  the  people  in  their  town  and  county  organiza- 
tion— first,  of  the  power  of  the  legislature  over  matters 
of  merely  sectional  interest,  and,  second,  of  the  power  of 
the  executive  over  the  local  administrative  and  judicial 
officers  of  the  state ;  that  they  contemplate  also  such  a 
modification  of  the  state  judiciary  as  shall  ensure  to  the 
people  a  cheap  and  prompt  administration  of  justice,  and 
dispense  with  the  necessity  of  a  tribunal  of  last  resort, 
armed  both  with  judicial  and  legislative  power,  and  using 
one  to  justify  and  fortify  the  other. 

"  Resolved,  .That  we  seek  these  changes  through  the 
agency  of  a  convention,  constituted  by  law,  and  rep- 
resenting the  whole  people  ;  because  repeated  unavailing 
efforts  by  the  people  have  shown  that  it  is  hopeless  to 
seek  of  the  representative  body  the  limitation  of  its  own 
power  ;  because  the  combinations  of  local  and  corpo- 
rate interests  in  that  body  are  already  armed,  by  the  con- 
stitution, with  a  VETO  POWER  against  the  people,  which 
will  almost  inevitably  defeat  the  popular  will  ;  because 
we  believe,  with  Jefferson,  that  a  solemn  opportunity 
should  be  afforded  to  each  generation  to  reconsider  and 
revise  the  charter  of  their  rights  and  liberties,  to  accom- 
modate it  to  the  circumstances  in  which  they  live,  and 
to  renew  in  its  behalf  the  expression  of  their  loyalty  and 
devotion." 


1844.]  COMMITTEES  OF  THE   ASSEMBLY.  389 

The  first  of  the  above  resolutions,  it  will  be  seen, 
shadows  forth  some  of  the  material  alterations  which 
were  actually  made  by  the  convention  of  1846.  Mr. 
Hoffman  attended  this  meeting,  and  the  editors  of  the 
Atlas  say  made  a  speech  which  occupied  two  hours  in 
its  delivery. 

The  Argus  speaks  coldly  of  the  meeting,  and  con- 
cludes a  brief  article  on  the  subject  by  saying : 

"  We  believe  also,  in  the  language  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence resolution,  '  That  the  best  mode  of  effecting  con- 
stitutional reform  is  to  promote  the  adoption,  in  the 
manner  prescribed  by  the  constitution,  of  those  amend- 
ments which  are  of  most  pressing  importance  to  the 
public  welfare.'  " 

It  is  very  probable  that  these  proceedings,  and  the 
ground  taken  by  several  of  the  democratic  newspapers 
in  the  state,  induced  Mr.  Bouck  to  occupy  a  large  por- 
tion of  his  message  in  discussing  the  question  whether 
a  convention  ought  to  be  called. 

Immediately  after  the  organization  of  the  assembly 
some  difficulty  occurred  in  forming  the  standing  com 
mittees.  The  three  great  committees  of  the  house  were 
the  committee  of  ways  and  means,  that  on  canals,  and 
that  on  the  judiciary.  Messrs.  Seymour,  Allen,  and  Bos- 
worth  were  all  ambitious  young  men,  distinguished  for 
their  talents,  and  leaders  in  the  hunker  party.  It  was 
therefore  desirable  to  place  each  of  them  at  the  head  of 
an  important  committee.  Mr.  Hoffman  in  1842  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  of  ways  and  means,  and  from 
his  age  and  standing  the  public  feeling  would  not  toler- 
ate displacing  him  ;  and  if  he  was  made  chairman  of  that 
committee,  only  two  important  committees  were  left  to 
be  apportioned  among  the  three  gentlemen  we  have 


'^90  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NF.VV   YORK.  [1844. 

mentioned.  In  this  state  of  things,  Mr.  Allen,  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  the  rules  of  the  house,  consisting  of 
himself,  Seymour,  Hoffman,  Bosworth.  and  Hulburt, 
reported  in  favor  of  creating  a  new  standing  committee, 
(o  be  called  the  committee  on  amendments  to  the  consti- 
tution, to  whom  all  matters  in  relation  to  that  subject 
should  be  referred.  This  proposition  was  opposed  by 
Messrs.  Hoffman,  Stevens,  and  Hulburt,  and  supported 
by  Messrs.  Allen,  Seymour,  and  Bosworth.  In  the  pro- 
gress of  the  debate,  Mr.  Youngs,  of  Queens  county,  moved 
to  amend  the  report  by  striking  out  so  much  of  it  as  re- 
lated to  the  appointment  of  the  new  committee  on  con- 
stitutional amendments,  and  the  motion  was  adopted  by 
the  large  vote  of  98  to  36.  In  the  end  Mr.  Hoffman 
was  appointed  chairman  of  the  committee  of  ways  and 
means,  Mr.  Seymour  of  that  on  canals,  and  Mr.  Allen 
•f  the  judiciary  committee.  A  select  committee  was 
ordered  on  that  part  of  the  governor's  message  which 
related  to  amendments  of  the  constitution,  of  which  Mr. 
Bosworth  was  appointed  chairman. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  vote  on  the  report  of  Mr.  Allen, 
proposing  to  make  alterations  in  the  rules  of  the  house, 
that  although  Mr.  Hoffman  failed  of  being  nominated 
for  speaker,  soon  after  the  house  was  organized  the  ma- 
jority of  that  body  was  with  him.  A  reliable  corre- 
spondent from  Albany  says :  "  A  few  days  after  the 
choice  of  speaker,  on  three  successive  occasions  he  (Mr. 
Hoffman)  carried  with  him,  against  the  speaker  and  his 
three  friends,  Seymour,  Bosworth,  and  Allen,  a  majority 
of  the  house,  and  two  to  one  of  the  democratic  mem- 
bers. This  alarmed  them.  Bosworth  joined  Hoffman, 
leaving  Seymour  alone  to  combat  him,  while  Allen  was 
sometimes  with  Sevmour  and  sometimes  with  Hoffman ; 


1844.]  SEYMOUR,  BO8WORTH,  AND  ALLEN.  391 

but,"  adds  the  same  correspondent,  "  these  three  young 
and  very  clever  men  were  secretly*  acting  in  concert." 
"  The  people's  resolution"  was  passed,  Seymour  oppo- 
sing and  voting  against  it.  But  when  they  came  to  the 
subject  of  the  finances,  Bosworth  suddenly  left  Hoffman, 
and  denounced  him  in  the  house.  This,  with  what 
the  influence  of  the  governor  had  done,  left  Mr.  HofF- 
man  in  a  small  minority  on  the  questions  relating  to  the 
canal  and  financial  policy  advocated  by  Messrs.  Sey- 
mour and  Bosworth,  as  we  shall  state  more  fully  here- 
after. 

During  this  session,  various  important  questions  were 
discussed,  as  well  in  the  senate  as  in  the  assembly. 
These  questions,  and  the  debates  to  which  they  gave 
rise,  we  should  take  pleasure  in  reviewing,  did  our  limits 
allow  ;  but  to  give  in  detail  a  history  of  the  legislation 
of  the  session,  would  swell  this  volume  to  an  unreasona- 
ble size.  The  movements,  however,  in  relation  to  the 
nomination  and  election  of  president,  and  the  nomina- 
tion of  a  candidate  for  governor  at  the  fall  election  in 
1844,  are,  independent  of  the  action  of  the  legislature, 
so  highly  interesting  and  important,  that  we  feel  bound 
to  describe  some  of  those  movements. 

It  is  however  to  be  remarked,  that  there  were  two 
great  and  controlling  subjects  which  occupied  the  at- 
tention of  the  legislature,  and  to  which  most  other  mat- 
ters that  came  under  consideration  were  rendered  sub- 


*  Our  correspondent  evidently  means  to  allege  this  as  his  opinion  mere- 
ly, and  not  as  a  fact  within  his  knowledge,  and  we  think  he  misjudged. 
Messrs.  Allen  and  Bosworth,  and  especially  tho  latter,  were  balancing  be- 
tween Mr.  Hoffman  and  Mr.  Seymour.  They  probably  thought  Hoffman's' 
notions  on  the  subject  of  expenditures  for  internal  improvement  too  strin- 
gent, and  Mr.  Seymour'*  too  liberal. 


392  POLITICAL.  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1814. 

servient ;  these  were  the  amendments  to  the  constitution. 
and  the  financial  and  internal  improvement  policy  of  the 
state.  We  shall  therefore  mainly  confine  ourselves  to 
the  history  of  the  legislation  on  these  great  questions  ; 
but  before  we  enter  on  that  history,  we  will  mention 
some  occurrences  not  immediately  connected  with  the 
action  of  any  or  either  of  the  political  parties,  which 
happened  this  year. 

Mr.  Foster  is  entitled  to  the  honor  of  having,  on 
the  second  day  of  the  session,  introduced  resolutions 
in  favor  of  a  reduction  of  postage.  They  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

"Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That  in  the 
judgment  of  this  legislature,  the  rates  of  postage  as  es- 
tablishe'd  by  law,  are  excessive,  and  highly  burdensome 
to  a  portion  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States :  that 
the  high  postage  now  charged  is  calculated  to  prevent 
the  use  of  the  mails  as  a  medium  of  communication  ;  to 
encourage  the  establishment  and  support  of  rival  modes 
of  conveying  mail-matter,  in  defiance  of  the  post-office 
laws  ;  and  to  prevent  that  free  interchange  of  commu- 
nication by  letter  which  is  desirable  to  all. 

"  That  the  franking  privilege,  as  at  present  authorized, 
is  unequal  and  unjust  in  its  operation  ;  tending  to  load 
and  encumber  the  mails  with  much  useless  matter  ;  is 
very  frequently  exercised  in  violation  of  the  law  of  con- 
gress ;  increases  the  expense  of  transporting  the  mails, 
and  of  the  post-office  department  ;  and  that  expense,  in- 
stead of  being  defrayed  by  the  whole  people  of  the  Union, 
in  proportion  to  their  ability,  is  made  a  charge  upon  the 
correspondence  of  the  country,  and  an  onerous  tax  upon 
the  business  of  the  people. 

"  That,  if  the  franking  privilege  is  to  be  continued,  we 


1844.]  JUDGE  COWEN'S  DEATH.  393 

perceive  no  good  reason  why  its  expenses  should  not  be 
made  a  charge  upon  the  general  treasury,  and  be  paid 
by  the  whole  people  in  proportion  to  their  contributions 
to  the  other  expenses  of  the  general  government,  rather 
than  to  continue  the  present  system,  which  levies  the 
whole  amount  upon  those  whose  business  or  other  cor- 
respondence compels  them  to  use  the  mails  as  their  me- 
dium of  communication." 

We  copy  these  resolutions  because  they  present,  in 
substance,  the  plan  ultimately  adopted  by  congress,  and 
also  the  reasons  for  the  proposed  reduction  ;  but  one 
reason  for  such  reduction  is  omitted.  It  is  this.  If  the 
rates  of  postage  are  to  be  regarded  as  a  tax,  (and  most 
assuredly  they  are  such,  and  exacted  with  a  view  to 
raise  a  revenue  sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
department,)  such  tax  is  palpably  unequal.  At  the  pres- 
ent reduced  rates  of  postage,  the  states  north  of  Mason 
and  Dixon's  line  pay  enough  to  reimburse  the  depart- 
ment for  all  its  expenditures  in  those  states,  and  leave  a 
very  large  surplus,  which  is  applied  to  pay  for  the 
transportation  of  the  mail  in  the  southern  and  south- 
western states.  Thus  the  people  of  the  north  actually 
pay  for  the  delivery  of  letters,  &c.,  to  the  people  of  the 
south.  Hence,  if  we  rightly  recollect,  every  member 
of  congress  from  the  slave  states  voted  against  the  re- 
duction of  postage. 

On  the  8th  of  February,  Mr.  Foster  was  chosen 
by  ballot,  eighteen  to  seven,  president  pro  tempore  of 
the  senate.  This  token  of  respect  was  justly  due  to 
him  for  his  arduous  and  able  labors  in  that  body,  and  to 
his  distinguished  talents. 

On  the  llth  of  February,  after  a  short  but  severe  ill- 
ness, Judge  Cowen  died  in  Albany.  Among  the  many 


394  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

instances  in  the  state  of  New  York  of  self-made  men, 
Judge  Cowen  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished.  He 
was  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  and  at  an  early  age 
migrated  to  this  state,  entered  the  office  of  Judge 
Skinner,  at  Sandy  Hill,  with  very  little,  if  any  classical 
education,  and  when  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law, 
located  himself  in  the  county  of  Saratoga.  His  perse- 
vering and  incessant  application  to  the  appropriate  stu- 
dies of  his  profession,  soon  gave  him  the  reputation  of  a 
learned  lawyer,  and  he  was  appointed  reporter  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  organized  under  the  constitution  of 
1821.  The  eight  volumes  of  his  reports  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  that  court,  and  his  elementary  writings,  particu- 
larly the  work  entitled  "  Cowen's  Justice,"  a  book  of 
humble  pretensions,  but  really  one  of  the  most  useful 
books  to  be  found  in  the  library  of  the  lawyer,  will 
transmit  his  fame  to  the  latest  posterity.  In  1832  he 
was  appointed  circuit-judge  of  the  fourth  circuit,  and 
subsequently  he  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  He  discharged  the  duties  of  this  office  with 
distinguished  ability,  integrity,  and  independence,  for 
sixteen  years,  and  until  his  death.  Unaffected  and  mod- 
est in  his  deportment,  and  with  great  simplicity  of  man- 
ner, he  was  a  man  of  immoveable  firmness  and  great  de- 
cision of  character.  So  assiduous  had  been  his  application 
to  his  studies,  and  so  retentive  was  his  memory,  that  he 
was  literally  a  walking  law-library.  The  only  official 
error  he  ever  committed  was  his  decision  in  the  case  of 
M'Leod  ;  and  if  that  was  an  error,  it  was  one  of  the 
heart,  growing  out  of  his  sympathy  for  his  friend,  Mr. 
Papineau,  and  other  Canadian  patriots, — a  sympathy 
which  caused  a  bias  in  his  honest  and  independent  mind, 
of  which  he  was  not  aware.  His  son,  Sidney  Cowen, 


1844.]  GEN.  PORTHR'S  DEATH.  395 

Esquire,  a  young  man  of  great  promise,  died  about  a 
year  after  his  father. 

Both  houses  of  the  legislature,  on  being  informed  of 
the  death  of  Judge  Cowen,  adjourned  ;  and  at  a  joint 
meeting,  adopted,  on  the  motion  of  Gen.  Clark,  senator 
from  the  fourth  district,  who  delivered  an  eloquent 
eulogy  upon  the  character  and  merits  of  the  deceased, 
resolutions  suitable  to  the  occasion. 

On  the  20th  of  February  the  governor,  by  consent  of 
the  senate,  appointed  SAMUEL  BEARDSLEY,  then  a  distin- 
guished member  of  congress,  and  whom  we  have  men- 
tioned in  the  second  volume  of  this  work  as  an  influen- 
tial member  of  the  senate  of  this  state,  a  judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  to  supply  the  vacancy  produced  by  the 
death  of  Judge  Cowen.  Mr.  Beardsley  is  a  clear-headed, 
sound,  and  able  lawyer,  and  the  appointment  was  well 
received  by  the  bar  and  the  public. 

On  the  20th  of  March,  Gen.  Peter  B.  Porter  died  at 
Black  Rock,  in  the  71st  year  of  his  age.  Gen.  Porter 
was  a  man  of  extraordinary  native  sagacity,  and  highly 
cultivated  mind.  He  was  one  of  the  first  canal  commis- 
sioners. His  colleagues  were — De  Witt  Clinton,  Gov- 
erneur  Morris,  and  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  Western  New  York, 
and  was  a  politician  of  great  efficiency  and  influence. 
He  held  various  important  offices,  the  last  of  which  was 
secretary  of  war,  under  the  presidency  of  John  Quincy 
Adams. 

On  the  4th  of  May,  James  V.  L.  Pruyn  and  James 
S.  Wadsworth  were  appointed  regents  of  the  university, 
in  place  of  Amasa  J.  Parker  and  John  C.  Spencer,  both 
of  whom  resigned. 

JOHN  P.  CUSHMAIV,  of  Troy,  who  had  been  appointed 


396  POLITICAL  HlSTOfctf  OF  NKW  YORK.  [1844. 

the  successor  of  Judge  Vanderpool,  circuit-judge  of  the 
third  district,  and  had  discharged  the  duties  of  that  office 
in  a  manner  creditable  to  himself  and  highly  satisfactory 
to  the  public,  having  arrived  nearly  to  the  age  of  sixty 
years,  resigned  his  office,  and  AMASA  J.  PARKER,  of  the 
county  of  Delaware,  was  appointed  in  his  place.  The 
appointment  of  Judge  Parker  was  well  received,  as  he 
was  favorably  known  as  a  lawyer  and  as  a  member  of 
congress,  and  had  discharged  his  duties  in  a  satisfactory 
manner ;  but  his  peculiar  fitness  for  discharging  the  du- 
ties of  the  office  to  which  he  was  now  appointed  was  not 
then  known.  He  is  now  a  judge  of  the  third  judicial 
district,  elected  by  the  people  when  and  where  there  was 
a  strong  political  majority  against  him.  This  single  fact 
is  better  evidence  of  his  merits  than  any  written  or 
printed  commendations  can  be. 

THOMAS  FARRINGTON  was,  on  the  5th  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, elected  treasurer  to  the  state  for  the  ensuing 
year. 

We  have,  in  a  preceding  chapter,  noticed  the  death 
of  Judge  Thompson.  This  event  left  the  great  state  of 
New  York  without  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States.  Soon  after  the  meeting  of  congress 
in  December,  1843,  Mr.  Tyler  nominated  JOHN  C.  SPEN- 
CER, then  a  member  of  his  cabinet,  for  the  successor  of 
Judge  Thompson,  but  the  senate  rejected  his  nomina- 
tion by  a  vote  of  twenty-six  to  twenty-one.  The  sena- 
tors from  this  state,  Wright  and  Tallmadge,  voted  to 
confirm  his  nomination,  and  so  in  fact  did  nearly  all  the 
democratic  senators.  His  rejection  was  caused  by  al- 
most a  unanimous  whig  vote  against  him.  "Consider- 
ing the  great  legal  learning,  industry,  capacity  for  intel- 
lectual labor,  and  the  talents  of  Mr.  Spencer,  it  may  be 


1844.]         WHIG  U.  S.  SENATORS  AND  J.  C.   SPENCER.  397 

a  subject  of  regret  that  he  was  not  made  a  member  of 
that  high  and  important  court.  The  whigs,  however, 
had  much  reason  to  be  dissatisfied  with  his  political  con- 
duct. Unfortunately  for  that  party,  the  death  of  Gen. 
Harrison  had  cast  the  executive  government  on  Mr. 
Tyler,  who,  although  nominated  by  a  whig  convention, 
of  which  he  was  himself  a  member,  and  professing  whig 
principles,  soon  after  the  government  was  cast  upon  him, 
vetoed  some  of  the  most  important  and  favorite  meas- 
ures of  the  whig  party,  and  distributed  the  national  pat- 
ronage in  a  manner  at  war  with  the  interests  and  wishes 
of  an  immense  majority  of  the  party.  In  consequence 
of  this  course,  which  was  regarded  as  a  breach  of  faith, 
the  cabinet  officers  who  were  appointed  by  Gen.  Harri- 
son, that  is  to  say,  Mr.  Ewing,  secretary  of  the  treasu- 
ry, Mr.  Bell,  secretary  of  war,  Mr.  Granger,  postmaster- 
general,  and  Mr.  Crittenden,  attorney-general,  resigned 
their  offices,  leaving  only  Mr.  Webster,  the  secretary 
of  state,  who  elected  to  remain,  under  the  pretence 
that  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  continue  in  the  de- 
partment of  state  until  the .  controversy  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  respecting  the  true  boun- 
dary of  the  state  of  Maine  could  be  adjusted  and  settled. 
In  this  state  of  things,  Mr.  Spencer  accepted  from  Mr. 
Tyler  the  appointment  of  secretary  of  the  war  depart- 
ment. The  whigs  considered  this  acceptance  as  an 
abandonment  of  his  party,  and  a  commitment,  on  his 
part,  to  support  Mr.  Tyler  in  his  course,  which  they 
considered  not  only  injurious  to  the  interest  of  the  nation, 
but  as  personally  treacherous.  Every  act  of  Mr.  Ty- 
ler and  his  cabinet,  in  conferring  the  patronage  of  the 
government  upon  the  political  enemies  of  the  whigs, 
which  from  time  to  time  was  done,  increased  the  irrita- 


398  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

tion  and  resentment  against  him  and  his  cabinet,  and 
especially  against  Mr.  Spencer.  The  whigs  at  that 
time  had  a  majority  in  the  senate,  and  to  the  state  of 
feeling  we  have  described  we  presume  the  rejection  of 
Mr.  Spencer's  nomination  may  be  charged. 

After  the  question  respecting  Mr.  Spencer's  appoint- 
ment was  disposed  of,  the  president  nominated  SILAS 
WRIGHT  for  the  vacant  judgeship ;  but  the  moment  he 
received  notice  of  his  nomination,  he  respectfully  de- 
clined the  appointment.  His  refusal  was  anticipated  ; 
for  though  no  direct  notice  of  the  president's  intention 
to  nominate  him  had  been  given,  intimations  of  such  in- 
tention had  been  made  darkly  to  him,  which  he  either 
did  not  understand,  or  refused  to  seem  to  understand. 
It  was  therefore  inferred  that  he  was  not  desirous  of  re- 
ceiving the  appointment.  Why  did  he  not  accept  the 
office  ?  The  office  of  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  is  one  of  the  most  desirable  offices 
within  the  gift  of  the  nation.  It  is  the  duty  of  a  judge 
to  abstract  himself  from  all  party  controversies  and  col- 
lisions. His  office  is  one  of  great  dignity.  He  is  en- 
tirely independent  of  popular  or  court  favor.  He  holds 
it  for  life.  The  salary  is  liberal,  and  it  is  a  life-estate  of 
four  thousand  dollars  a  year.  Why,  then,  did  Mr. 
Wright  not  accept  such  an  office,  tendered  to  him  un- 
solicited ?  Some  of  his  reasons  may  have  been  the  fol- 
lowing : 

He  may  have  been  attached  to  his  seat  in  the  senate. 
It  was  a  theatre  for  which  nature,  education,  and  his 
natural  temperament,  had  peculiarly  fitted  him.  He  no 
doubt  was  conscious  that  he  was  rendering  his  country 
service  there  :  if  he  changed  that  position  for  another,  it 
might  be  doubtful  whether  he  could  in  that  other  posi- 


1844.]  WRIGHT  REFUSES  OFFICE  OF  D.  S.  JUDGE.          399 

tion  be  as  useful.  At  any  rate,  it  was  an  experiment 
which  he  might  deem  it  hazardous  to  make. 

Again :  The  presidential  election  was  soon  to  take 
place,  and  he  might  have  doubted  whether  his  duty  to 
his  friends  would  permit  him  to  withdraw  from  the  po- 
litical field  before  the  approaching  contest  was  decided. 
Mr.  Wright  had  been,  and  still  was,  the  inflexible  politi- 
cal opponent  of  Mr.  Tyler.  So  were  that  portion  of  his 
constituents  who  had  placed  him  in  the  senate.  Was 
he  at  liberty  to  accept  an  office  from  an  administration 
to  which  his  constituents  were  all  but  unanimously  op- 
posed ? 

But  the  consideration  which  must  on  this  occasion 
have  pressed  with  overwhelming  force  on  such  a  mind 
as  that  of  Silas  Wright,  was,  that  the  question  of  the  an- 
nexation of  Texas  was  either  then  before  the  senate,  or 
was  about  to  come  before  it,  and  it  was  anticipated  that 
the  senate  would  be  nearly  equally  divided  in  relation 
to  that  measure.  Mr.  Wright  was  opposed  to  annexa- 
tion. A  war  with  Mexico,  with  all  its  dreadful  conse- 
quences, and  the  liberty  or  slavery  of  unborn  millions, 
might  depend  upon  a  single  vote  in  the  senate.  Could 
Silas  Wright  abandon  his  post  in  the  senate  when  one 
vote  might  produce  results  so  momentous  ?  No,  he 
could  not — he  did  not.  Mr.  Wright,  from  a  nice  sense 
of  honor  and  a  patriotic  devotion  to  the  cause  of  his 
country  and  to  human  liberty,  declined  the  proffered  ap- 
pointment. He  did  remain  in  the  senate,  and  he  did 
vote  against  the  annexation  of  Texas. 

After  Mr.  Wright's  settled  determination  to  refuse  the 
appointment  was  made  known  to  the  president,  he  nom- 
inated Chancellor  Walworth.  This  was  an  excellent 
nomination.  His  long  experience  as  a  judge,  his  varied 


400  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

and  extensive  legal  attainments,  and  his  indefatigable 
industry,  would,  beyond  question,  have  rendered  him 
one  of  the  most  useful  members  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
His*  nomination  was  very  popular  in  this  state  ;  but  in 
the  winter  of  1844,  the  whigs  held  a  majority  in  the 
senate  of  the  United  States,  and  at  that  time  they  confi- 
dently expected  that  the  presidential  election,  which  was 
to  take  place  in  the  succeeding  autumn,  would  result  in 
the  election  of  a  whig  president.  When,  therefore,  the 
name  of  Chancellor  Wai  worth  was  sent  to  the  senate, 
the  whig  members  generally  were  in  favor  of  postponing 
action  upon  the  nomination  until  after  the  election,  in 
the  hope  that  an  appointment,  politically  more  agreeable 
to  them,  might  be  made.  There  were,  it  is  true,  a  few 
of  the  whigs  whose  personal  regard  for  the  chancellor 
overbalanced  their  political  partialities,  and  who  were 
desirous  that  his  nomination  should  be  confirmed  ;  but 
Mr.  Berrien,  from  Georgia,  effected  an  arrangement 
with  some  of  the  democratic  western  senators,  by  which 
they  agreed,  if  their  aid  should  become  necessary,  to 
vote  in  favor  of  the  postponement  of  the  question  on 
Mr.  Walworth's  nomination.  With  the  motives  which 
induced  the  democratic  western  senators  to  make  this  ar- 
rangement with  Mr.  Berrien,  we  are  unacquainted ; 
but  the  result  was,  that  the  president's  message  nomi- 
nating Mr.  Walworth  was  laid  on  the  table,  and  the 
session  passed  away  without  any  action  upon  it  by  the 
senate. 

It  has  been  reported,  and  it  was  believed  by  many, 
that  some  of  the  southern  senators  opposed  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  chancellor  because,  in  giving  an  opinion  in 
a  case  which  came  judicially  before  him,  he  had  inci- 
dentally declared  that  slavery  was  a  national  and  "  lo- 


1844.]  NOMINATION  OF  SAMUEL  XELSON.  401 

cal"  evil.*  This  report,  however,  was  not  well  founded. 
When  the  chancellor's  name  was  first  mentioned  as  a 
candidate  for  the  office,  his  expression  in  the  case  to 
which  we  have  referred  was  mentioned  as  an  objection 
against  him  by  some  of  the  southern  gentlemen  ;  but  the 
matter  was  soon  after  explained  so  as  entirely  to  ob- 
viate and  remove  opposition  on  that  ground  from  the 
minds  even  of  those  who  were  the  most  sensitive  on  the 
subject  of  slavery.  The  question,  therefore,  remained 
undecided  until  the  winter  of  1845,  when  all  the  judges 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  York,  and  the  most  dis- 
tinguished lawyers,  and  all  the  members  of  the  legisla- 
ture, without  distinction  of  parfy,  signed  and  forwarded 
a  petition  to  the  senate  praying  the  confirmation  of  the 
chancellor's  nomination. 

The  election  of  Mr.  Polk  had  removed  the  cause  of 
the  desire  of  the  whigs  to  further  postpone  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  successor  to  Judge  Thompson;  and  when  the 
petition  just  mentioned  reached  Washington,  the  nomi- 
nation of  Mr.  Walworth  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
confirmed,  had  not  Mr.  Tyler,  about  that  time,  sent  a 
message  to  the  senate  withdrawing  the  chancellor's 
name,  and  nominating  Samuel  Nelson,  then  chief-justice 
of  this  state,  in  his  place.  What  produced  this  move- 
ment of  the  president  is  not  known.  He  might  not  have 
been  apprized  of  the  change  of  opinion  favorable  to  the 
chancellor  which  had  lately  occurred  in  the  senate,  and 
may  have  supposed  that  the  name  of  Chief- Justice  Nel- 
son would  be  more  acceptable  to  a  majority  of  that 
body ;  or  his  action  may  have  been  caused  by  occur- 


14  Wendell,  507.    Jack  vs.  Martin. 

26 


402  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

rences  which  will  be  related  when  our  narrative  reaches 
the  year  1845. 

It  gives  us  pleasure  to  be  able  to  state,  that  Judge 
Nelson  had  no  voluntary  agency  in  defeating  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  chancellor.  He  had  himself  written 
in  favor  of  that  appointment ;  and  we  have  been  as- 
sured, from  a  most  reliable  source,  that  he  acted  in  the 
transaction  with  perfect  fidelity  and  good  faith  to  his 
friend. 

The  nomination  of  Judge  Nelson  was  confirmed  on 
the  13th  of  February,  1845. 


1844.]          GEN.  CHAMBERLAIN'S  RESOLUTION. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Gen.  Chamberlain's  Resolutions— Mr.  Deunison's  Report  on  the  Canal 
Policy  and  Bill— Assembly's  Finance  Bill  amended  in  the  Senate,  and 
passes — The  state  of  feeling  in  the  Assembly  and  Senate  between  the 
Hunkers  and  Radicals— B.  F.  Hall's  Bill  for  a  Convention,  and  proceed- 
ings thereon — Bill  for  electing  Canal  Commissioners — Removal  of  Mr. 
Cassidy  from  the  office  of  State  Librarian — Policy  of  the  Whigs — Cal- 
vin H.  Hulburd — Democratic  Legislative  Caucus — Protest  of  the  minor- 
ity— Whig  Legislative  Address. 

THE  subject  of  increasing  the  expenditures  for  internal 
improvements  by  a  partial  resumption  of  the  public 
works,  which  had  been  suspended  by  the  act  of  1842, 
was,  in  the  early  part  of  the  session,  brought  before  the 
senate  by  a  resolution  which  was  offered  by  Gen.  Cham- 
berlain, a  resident  of  the  county  of  Allegany.  The 
resolution  contained  a  preamble,  which,  after  quoting 
the  first  sections  of  the  two  acts  of  the  legislature  passed 
in  the  year  1836,  by  which  the  canal  commissioners 
were  directed  to  construct  and  complete  the  Genesee 
Valley  and  Black  River  canals,  states  that — 

"  Whereas,  the  people  of  the  state,  by  their  agents, 
the  canal  commissioners,  have  proceeded,  under  the 
several  acts  above  specified,  to  the  construction  of  the 
said  canals,  and  have  actually  expended  on  the  Gen- 
esee Valley  Canal  about  three  millions  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  and  leaving  only  about  one  million  of 
dollars  to  complete  the  same  :  also,  on  the  Black  River 
Canal,  there  has  been  expended  about  one  million  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  leaving  to  be  expended  to 


404  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

complete  the  same,  about  three  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars, showing  that  the  works  are  more  than  three-fourths 
completed,  and  but  a  small  portion  brought  into  use. 

"  And  whereas,  vast  amounts  of  property  have  changed 
hands,  and  large  sums  of  money  have  been  invested,  in 
view  of  the  completion  of  said  canals,  and  many  other 
business  arrangements  have  been  made  with  the  same 
view,  by  a  large  and  respectable  portion  of  our  fellow- 
citizens  ;  therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  senate,  the 
faith  of  the  state  is  solemnly  pledged  to  those  people  in- 
terested to  carry  forward  those  works  to  completion,  a.s 
soon  as  the  finances  of  the  state  shall  be  in  a  condition 
to  do  the  same  ;  and  if  not  now  in  such  condition,  good 
economy  requires  that  the  works  in  progress  should  be 
protected  and  preserved." 

This  resolution  was  considered  and  discussed  in  the 
senate  on  the  19th  day  of  February,  when  the  mover 
made  an  elaborate  speech  in  favor  of  its  adoption.  But 
as  the  spirit  of  the  resolution  evidently  contemplated  a 
departure  from  the  policy  of  1842,  it  does  not  seem  to 
have  gained  much  favor  in  the  senate.  Petitions  for 
a  resumption  of  the  public  works,  and  claiming  that  by 
the  acts  of  1836  the  state  was  pledged  to  complete  these 
canals,  or  pay  damages  to  those  who  had  made  invest- 
ments in  their  vicinity  on  the  faith  of  those  supposed 
pledges  ;  and  also  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  preservation 
and  protection  of  the  works  on  the  unfinished  canals  of 
the  state,  were  referred  to  the  canal  committee,  consist- 
ing of  Messrs.  Dennison,  Varian,  and  Rhoades. 

On  the  21st  of  March,  Mr.  Dennison  made  a  report 
on  the  petitions  and  proposed  bill,  Messrs.  Varian  and 
Rhoades  dissenting. 


1844.]  MR.  DENNISON'S  REPORT.  405 

This  report  must  have  cost  Mr.  Dennison  much  time 
and  labor.  It  is  exceedingly  well  written,  and  evinces 
much  talent  and  great  energy  of  mind.  As  this  report 
may  be  supposed  to  embody  the  views  of  the  state 
officers  and  the  radicals  of  the  senate,  we  will  endeavor 
to  present  a  sketch  of  it. 

Mr.  Dennison  commences  by  giving  a  brief  history 
of  the  canal  policy,  and  showing  that  no  indebtedness 
was  incurred  for  the  construction  of  the  Erie  and  Cham- 
plain  canals,  without,  at  the  same  time,  providing  by  law 
for  the  payment  of  the  interest  and  repayment  of  the 
principal :  he  says — 

"  We  are  to  judge  of  the  wisdom  of  the  early  friends  of 
internal  improvement  in  this  state,  by  their  actions  and 
their  works  ;  and  these  will  bear  the  severest  scrutiny 
which  time  and  experience  can  apply.  With  those  men, 
the  work  to  be  done,  and  the  ways  and  means  to  do  it, 
Were  never  for  a  moment  separated.  A  prominent  and 
vital  part  of  the  original  canal  policy  of  this  state,  is  the 
plan  adopted  for  providing  the  ways  and  means  to  pay 
for  the  works  when  completed." 

Mr.  Dennison  believes  with  Col.  Young  the  following 
to  be  a  good  general  rule  :  that  no  work  should  be  under- 
taken or  recognised  by  the  state  that  will  not,  when 
completed,  sustain  itself,  pay  the  interest  on  its  cost,  and 
contribute  something  towards  a  sinking  fund  to  redeem 
the  principal. 

He  then  shows  that  the  lateral  canals,  to  wit,  Oswe- 
go,  Cayuga,  and  Seneca,  Chernung,  Crooked  Lake,  Che- 
nango,  Genesee  Valley,  and  Oneida  Lake,  do  not,  in  the 
aggregate  amount  of  tolls  received  from  them,  pay  a  sum 
equal  to  the  amount  paid  by  the  state  for  their  repairs  : 
that  the  repairs  in  1843  cost  $84,065.07,  while  the  tolls 


406  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

amounted  only  to  $80,146.60.  In  illustration  of  the 
views  of  the  committee  in  relation  to  the  construction 
of  the  lateral  canals,  the  report  takes  an  extended  notice 
of  the  history  and  operations  of  the  Chenango  Canal. 
Engineers  of  the  highest  character,  after  a  careful  ex- 
amination, certified  that  the  canal  could  be  constructed 
for  a  million  of  dollars,  and  the  amount  of  tolls  to  be 
received  was  estimated  at  from  $1 10,843  to  $166,844  an- 
nually. Experience  had  shown  that  this  canal  had  cost 
$2,417,000,  and  the  amount  of  tolls  received  from  it  in 
1843  was  816,194.75.  The  annual  loss  to  the  state 
caused  by  the  construction  of  the  Chenango  Canal,  the 
committee  estimate  at  $123,618.04. 

In  proof  that  it  was  unwise  for  the  state  to  engage  in 
the  enterprise  of  constructing  the  Chenango  Canal,  Mr. 
Dennison  presents  a  supposed  case,  to  which  it  seems 
difficult  to  furnish  a  satisfactory  reply.  The  supposed 
case  shows  that  a  road  might  be  constructed  by  the 
state,  and  all  the  produce  transported  by  wagons,  which 
was  then  conveyed  on  the  canal,  (the  amount  of  tonnage 
transported  on  the  canal  during  the  year  1843  having 
been  ascertained  by  the  committee  to  be  17,177  tons,) 
at  a  less  loss  to  the  state  than  has  been  incurred  in  con- 
sequence of  the  construction  of  the  canal.  The  illus- 
tration of  this  proposition  to  us  is  original,  and  certainly 
is  ingenious,  and  we  therefore  copy  it : 

"  Ninety-seven  miles  (the  length  of  the  Chenango  Ca- 
nal) of  the  best  graded  and  gravelled  road,  could  have 
been  made  through  the  Chenango  valley  at  84,000  per 
mile,  and  would  cost  at  that  rate  $388,000. 

"All  the  tonnage  on  this  canal,  viz.  the  17,177  tons, 
does  not  pass  the  whole  distance  :  but  say  the  whole  of 
it  is  transported  60  miles,  which  is  a  liberal  estimate. 


1844.]  MR.  DENNISON'S  REPORT.  407 

"  To  hire  160  teamsters  at  $2  per  day,  for  300  work- 
ing days  in  the  year,  would  require  $96,000.  They 
would  have  easy  work  in  going  the  sixty  miles  and  re- 
turning in  four  days ;  and  on  such  a  road  as  the  above 
sum  would  make,  they  could  draw  with  convenience, 
with  a  single  team,  one  and  a  half  tons  per  load,  return- 
ing empty.  They  could  therefore  draw  to  the  Erie 
Canal,  75  loads  each  per  year,  and  have  the  earnings  of 
the  returning  teams.  The  total  tonnage  which  they  could 
draw  is  18,000  tons. 

"  The  first  cost  of  constructing  this  canal  is.  82,417,000 

"  To  construct  the  above  road  would  cost. .      8388,000 
"  An  investment  at  five  per  cent,  to  produce 
$96,000  per  year,  to  pay  the  teamsters, 
would  be 1,920,000 


Total $2,308,000 

"  Leaving  as  a  sinking  fund,  or  to  extend, 

repair,  and  improve  the  road $109,000 

"  Thus  it  is  seen,  it  would  have  been  cheaper  for  the 
state  to  have  made  a  road  and  hired  teamsters  at  expen- 
sive rates  to  transport  the  produce  of  that  country  in 
ordinary  wagons  ;  and  the  community  would  have  had 
the  free  use  of  the  road  for  common  purposes." 

The  report  then  proceeds  to  give  a  history  of  legisla- 
tion as  respects  the  construction  of  the  Black  River 
Canal,  and  it  reviews  the  proceedings  in  relation  to  the 
Genesee  Valley  Canal ;  and  as  in  the  case  of  the  Che- 
nango  Canal,  it  shows  that  in  each  of  these  canals  the 
state  would  have  been  a  gainer  had  it  constructed  a  road 
at  an  expense  of  $4,000  per  mile,  and  paid  teamsters  at 
the  rate  of  two  dollars  per  day  for  transporting,  free  of  ex- 


408  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

pense  to  the  Erie  Canal,  all  the  produce  which  for  many 
years  will  be  transported  on  these  canals  when  comple- 
ted. After  taking  this  view  of  the  subject,  Mr.  Dennison 
remarks,  that  "  a  distinguished  senator  from  the  fourth 
district  (Col.  Young)  many  years  ago  prophesied  in  his 
place  that  the  time  would  come  when  those  legislators 
who  were  pressing  the  construction  of  these  and  kindred 
works,  would  deny  before  heaven  and  earth  their  agency 
in  fastening  them  upon  the  state.  The  debates  in  the 
legislature  and  among  the  people  for  the  last  few  years, 
have  fulfilled  this  pi-ophecy.  Each  political  party  liter- 
ally hastens  to  escape  from  them,  like  Lot  of  old  from 
the  conflagration  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  Each  brings 
a  railing  accusation,  and  charges  their  construction  upon 
the  other.  Fortunate  would  it  be  for  the  people,  if  the 
debt  and  taxation  under  which  they  groan  could  be  fas- 
tened where  the  sin  belongs — upon  the  speculators  and 
demagogues." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  members  of  the  legis- 
lature were  induced  to  undertake  these  works  in  conse- 
quence of  the  erroneous  estimates  of  their  expense  made 
by  the  engineers.  The  highest  estimate  of  the  expense 
of  constructing  the  Chenango  Canal  .was  $1,000,000 — it 
actually  cost  $2,417,000.  The  first  estimate  of  the  cost 
of  the  Black  River  Canal  was  $437,739.25,  the  next  was 
8602,544,  and  the  last,  upon  which  the  legislature  acted 
when  ihey  undertook  the  work,  was  $1,0 19,22 1.72.  This 
estimate  was  made  by  Mr.  Jervis  ;  but,  after  the  work 
was  commenced,  Mr.  P.  R.  Root  calculated  the  expense 
at  $2,431,699.29.  There  has  been  already  expended 
on  this  canal  $2,067,285.05,  and  the  cost  of  its  comple- 
tion is  stated  at  not  less  than  $737,817.67,  making  a  total 
of  $2,805,102.72.  The  highest  estimate  of  the  Genesee 


1814.]  MR.  DENNISON'S  REPORT.  409 

Valley  Canal,  and  that  on  which  the  work  was  under- 
taken by  the  legislature,  was  $1,774,372.12;  after  money 
had  been  expended,  in  pursuance  of  the  law,  for  the  con- 
struction of  this  canal,  Mr.  Mills,  the  same  engineer  on 
whose  estimate  the  legislature  acted,  reported  the  ex- 
pense of  the  work  at  $4,900,122.44.  There  had,  when 
this  report  was  made,  been  expended  $3,553,000,  and 
.Mr.  Dennison  calculates  the  expense  of  finishing  this 
canal  at  $2,000,000.  The  very  great  disparity  between 
the  estimated  and  actual  expense,  forces  upon  the  mind 
the  painful  conclusion  that  some  of  these  engineers,  act- 
ing as  they  did  under  their  responsibility  as  state  agents, 
were  either  grossly  and  culpably  ignoraot  or  negligent, 
or  that  they  were  corrupt.  Well  might  Mr.  Dennison 
say,  in  another  part  of  his  report,  in  answer  to  the  claim 
of  the  applicants  that  the  faith  of  the  state  was  pledged 
for  the  completion  of  these  works,  that  if  such  pledge 
had  been  given  it  was  given  in  consequence  of  false  and 
fraudulent  representations. 

*  Mr.  Dennison  also  presents  a  rapid  and  perhaps 
rather  too  sombre  view  of  the  financial  concerns  of  the 
state,  and  arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  the  public  works 
cannot  be  resumed  without  laying  an  additional  direct 
tax,  and  he  expresses  the  same  opinion  as  respects  fur- 
ther expenditures  in  enlarging  the  Erie  Canal ;  the  re- 
sult at  which  he  finally  arrives,  is  expressed  in  the  fol- 
lowing propositions  and  resolution  : 

"  1.  The  tolls  of  the  canals  and  revenue  of  the  state, 
by  the  act  of  March  29th,  1842,  entitled  'An  act  to  pro- 
vide for  paying  the  debt  and  preserving  the  credit  of  the 
state,'  are  pledged  to  the  public  creditors,  and  that  law, 
with  all  its  guaranties  and  pledges,  must  be  rigidly  ob- 
served until  our  debt  be  paid. 


410  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

"2.  The  public  works  cannot  be  resumed  without  a 
resort  to  additional  direct  taxation,  to  which  the  people 
will  not  and  ought  not  to  submit. 

"  3.  The  state  having  entered  upon  the  construction 
of  the  unfinished  canals,  without  a  full  knowledge  of 
their  cost  and  dements  having  been  communicated  to 
the  people,  the  legislature  ought  not  to  appropriate  any 
money  to  be  expended  in  their  construction,  until  the 
people,  who  have  to  foot  the  bills,  in  the  exercise  ot 
their  sovereign  power  command  it  to  be  done ;  and  the 
committee  will  not  recommend  a  direct  tax  to  preserve 
them. 

"  4.  The  interests  of  the  people  require  no  legislation 
on  the  subjects  referred  at  this  time  ;  and  therefore  the 
committee  respectfully  submit  the  following  resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  committee  be  discharged  from 
the  further  consideration  of  the  bill  and  petitions." 

About  one  month  after  this  report  was  made  in  the 
senate,  [23d  of  April,]  Mr.  Seymour,  from  the  committee 
on  canals  in  the  assembly,  made  a  report  on  that  part  of 
the  governor's  message  which  related  to  canals.  That 
committee  consisted  of  Messrs.  Seymour,  M.  L.  Harris. 
Linn,  S.  Cole,  and  Dickinson.  This  report  was  drawn  by 
Mr.  Seymour,  and  occupies  seventy-one  large  octavo 
pages.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  it  one  of  the  ablest 
and  best- written  documents  ever  presented  to  a  legislative 
body.  We  should  do  injustice  to  the  author  of  it  were 
we  to  pretend  to  give  a  skeleton  of  it.  From  the  able 
and  masterly  review  that  it  takes  of  our  system  of  in- 
ternal improvements,  the  great  mass  of  well-arranged 
facts  it  contains,  its  lucid,  candid,  liberal,  and  able  rea- 
soning, and  the  brief,  but  intelligent  picture  it  presents 
of  the  finances  of  the  state,  it  will  amply  reward  any 


1844.]  ME.  SEYMOUR'S  REPORT.  411 

> 

person  for  the  time  which  the  perusal  of  it  would  oc- 
cupy. It  ought  to  be  read  by  every  statesman  and  le- 
gislator, who  desires  to  be  acquainted  with  the  situation 
of  the  public  works  and  the  financial  condition  of  the 
state  in  the  year  1844.  It  will  be  found  in  Vol.  VII.  of 
the  assembly  documents  of  that  year,  No.  177. 

We  will  merely  remark,  that  the  report  unequivocally 
takes  ground  in  favor  of  sustaining  and  carrying  out  all 
the  pledges  of  the  act  of  1842  ;  that  it  shows  there  will 
be  a  surplus  of  revenue  after  redeeming  those  pledges  ; 
that  it  admits  the  necessity  of  suspending  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  Erie  Canal,  but  recommends  the  employ- 
ment of  the  surplus  revenue  in  enlarging  the  locks  upon 
it,  in  preserving  the  unfinished  works,  and  in  gradually 
progressing  with  the  construction  of  the  Black  River 
and  Genesee  Valley  canals ;  and  where  unfinished  parts 
of  the  enlarged  canal  can  be  completed,  at  an  expense 
not  greater  than  that  of  repairs  to  contiguous  parts  of 
the  old  canal,  as  in J  the  case  of  the  Schoharie  Creek 
aqueduct,  the  report  recommends  that  such  parts  should 
be  completed.  The  report  condemns  and  repudiates 
the  pre-existing  policy  of  creating  additional  debts  for 
the  purpose  of  constructing  new  canals  or  enlarging  the 
Erie  Canal,  and  it  commends  the  policy  recommended 
by  Mr.  Flagg  and  the  canal  board  in  1835,  that  only  the 
surplus  revenue  of  the  canals  should  be  used  for  those 
purposes.*  The  following  are  the  concluding  paragraphs 
of  the  report : 

"  The  present  period  is  eminently  favorable  for  the 
establishment  of  a  system  of  improvements  which  shall 

*  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  principles  advocated  in  this  report  are 
substantially  those  adopted  by  the  last  constitutional  convention,  and  a,t 
HOW  a  part  of  the  organic  law  of  fie  state. 


412  POLITICAL,  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  []844. 

not  conflict  with  the  rapid  payment  of  our  great  liabili- 
ties. But  to  accomplish  this,  the  subject  must  be  ap- 
proached and  treated  with  the  fairness  and  candor  its 
importance  demands.  If,  stimulated  by  success,  we  have, 
in  a  period  of  excitement  and  delusion,  exceeded  the 
bounds  of  prudence  or  discretion,  we  have  but  fallen 
into  the  errors  which  ever  attend  upon  the  progress  of 
human  enterprises.  The  errors  we  have  committed  are 
not  without  their  utility  or  profitable  teachings.  The 
corruptions  of  extravagance,  and  the  bitter  consequences 
of  indebtedness,  have  produced  their  own  correctives, 
and  public  opinion,  admonished  by  the  past,  has  returned 
to  its  accustomed  and  healthful  channels,  from  which  it 
will  not  be  readily  diverted.  There  is  no  portion  of  our 
citizens  who  desire  to  increase  our  state  indebtedness, 
or  to  do  aught  to  the  detriment  of  our  common  interests, 
when  they  are  shown  the  evils  that  inevitably  follow  in 
the  train  of  borrowing  large  sums  of  money,  to  be  re- 
paid perhaps  in  periods  of  pecuniary  distress  and  em- 
barrassment. But  just  views  of  political  economy  are 
not  to  be  disseminated  by  harsh  denunciations,  which 
create  the  suspicion  that  there  is  more  of  hostility  to 
the  interests  of  those  assailed,  than  an  honest  desire 
to  protect  the  treasury  of  the  state.  Neither  is  it 
true,  on  the  other  hand,  that  any  considerable  number 
of  our  citizens  are  opposed  to  the  extension  of  our 
canals  when  it  can  be  effected  by  the  aid  of  surplus  rev- 
enues. 

"  The  issue,  which  has  been  made  between  improve- 
ments on  the  one  hand  and  finances  on  the  other,  is  a 
false  and  unnatural  one.  And  if  the  committee  have 
succeeded  in  establishing  the  truth  of  their  positions,  we 
may  and  should  have  in  this  state  a  liberal  system  of  in- 


1844.]  MR.  SEYMOUR'S  CANAL  BILL.  413 

ternal  improvements,  furnishing  the  elements  of  and 
predicated  upon  a  sound  financial  policy." 

With  this  report  Mr.  Seymour  introduced  a  bill,  a 
summary  of  which  we  copy  from  the  Albany  Argus: 

"Sec.  1.  Authorizes  the  canal  board  to  direct  the  ca- 
nal commissioners  to  cause  to  be  made  such  repairs  and 
improvements  on  unfinished  work  on  the  enlargement 
of  the  Erie  Canal,  as  may  be  necessary  to  bring  the  same 
into  use,  in  cases  where  said  board  shall  decide  that  it 
is  better  economy,  or  more  for  the  interest  of  the  state, 
to  bring  into  use  such  new  work,  than  it  is  to  repair  and 
continue  in  use  the  old  work  for  which  it  is  to  be  substi- 
tuted, and  where  the  contractor  shall  have  been  settled 
with  for  any  claim  which  he  may  have  on  account  of 
said  work. 

"§2.  Before  the  canal  board  shall  direct  any  such  re- 
pairs or  improvements  as  are  contemplated  in  the  first 
section,  they  shall  have,  from  the  canal  commissioners, 
estimates  of  the  probable  expense  to  be  incurred  in  ma- 
king the  same,  and  also  a  particular  statement  of  the 
condition  of  the  old  work,  for  which  said  new  work  is  to 
be  substituted. 

"  §  3.  Authorizes  the  canal  board  to  direct  the  com- 
missioners to  construct  and  maintain  any  bridges  over 
the  Erie  Canal  which  according  to  law  they  might  con- 
struct or  maintain,  but  for  the  provisions  of  chap.  114, 
of  the  laws  of  1842. 

"  §  4.  Authorizes  the  canal  commissioners  to  use  any 
materials  that  have  been  paid  for  or  estimated  to  con- 
tractors on  the  enlargement  of  the  Erie  Canal,  on  any 
work  that  may  be  done  under  this  act,  or  for  any  repairs 
on  the  Erie  Canal. 

"  §  5.  Requires  the  commissioners,  under  the  direction 


414  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1844. 

of  the  canal  board,  to  protect  or  secure  from  injury,  in 
the  manner  directed  by  the  board,  the  public  works  on 
the  enlargement  of  the  Erie  Canal,  or  on  any  of  the  un- 
finished lateral  canals,  that  have  been  completed  and  not 
brought  into  use,  or  that  have  been  commenced  and  not 
completed,  or  the  materials  that  have  been  procured  and 
.paid  for  or  estimated  to  contractors  for  such  works  ;  and 
to  sell  any  materials  that  have  been  paid  for  or  estimated 
to  contractors  for  any  work  on  said  enlargement  or  said 
lateral  canals. 

"  §  6.  The  expenses  of  securing  from  injury  any  fin- 
ished or  unfinished  work,  under  the  fifth  section,  to  be 
paid  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  any  materials  un- 
der that  section,  or  from  the  revenues  of  the  Erie  Canal, 
to  an  amount  not  exceeding  the  value  of  any  materials 
used  for  any  repairs  on  the  Erie  Canal ;  the  deficiency, 
if  any,  to  be  paid  from  any  surplus  of  canal  revenue, 
after  complying  with  the  pledges  of  the  act  of  1842. 

"§  7.  The  commissioners  to  account  to  the  canal  board 
for  all  materials  used  or  disposed  of  under  this  act. 

"  §  8.  Directs  the  canal  commissioners  to  finish  the 
aqueduct  over  the  Schoharie  creek,  and  the  new  work 
necessary  to  bring  it  into  use  for  canal  navigation  ;  also 
to  complete  and  bring  into  use  the  new  line  of  the  Erie 
Canal  extending  from  a  point  ten  chains  east  of  the  aque- 
duct across  the  Nine  Mile  Creek  to  the  village  of  Jordan. 

"  §  9.  The  commissioners  to  make  such  repairs  and 
improvements  as  may  be  directed  by  the  canal  board 
under  this  act,  in  the  same  manner  that  they  are  required 
to  make  repairs  and  improvements  on  any  completed 
canal,  by  chap.  9,  title  9,  art.  2,  of  the  first  part  of  the 
Revised  Statutes. 

"§  10.  Whenever  the  canal  board  shall  decide  that 


*'   * 

1844.]    DENNISON  &  SEYMOUR'S  REPORTS  COMPARED.         415 

any  work  done  or  improvement  made  on  the  Erie  Canal 
under  this  act  is  a  just  repair  of  said  canal,  or  that  the 
same  is  necessary  for  the  security,  or  for  the  convenient 
use  of  said  canal,  or  for  the  interest  of  the  public  cred- 
itors of  this  state,  or  that  it  will  be  the  best  economy 
in  a  period  of  twenty-two  years  to  make  any  improve- 
ment contemplated  by  this  act,  then  the  expense  of  ma- 
king any  such  improvement  shall  be  paid  from  the  reve- 
nues of  said  canal  as  a  repair  ;  otherwise  the  same  shall 
be  paid  from  any  surplus  revenues  of  the  canals,  after 
complying  with  the  pledges  and  guarantees  of  chap.  114, 
of  the  laws  of  1842." 

The  report  of  Mr.  Seymour  has  been  considered  as 
antagonistical  to  that  of  Mr.  Dennison,  and  hence  it  may 
be  regarded  as  inconsistent  to  commend  both.  But  upon 
a  careful  examination,  it  will  be  perceived  that  there  is 
no  material  difference  in  the  principles  advocated  by 
each,  except  that  Mr.  Seymour's  indicates  an  opinion, 
that  whenever  the  revenue  arising  from  the  canals  shall 
yield  a  surplus  over  and  above  a  sum  sufficient  to  re- 
deem the  pledges  contained  in  the  act  of  1842,  such 
surplus  should  be  applied  to  defraying  the  expenses  of 
enlarging  the  Erie  and  completing  the  construction  of 
the  Black  River  and  Genesee  Valley  canals.  Mr.  Den- 
nison, on  the  contrary,  was  of  the  opinion  that  that  sur- 
plus, if  there  should  be  any,  ought  to  be  applied  to  the 
extinguishment  of  the  public  debt.  The  authors  of  both 
reports  were  for  rigidly  adhering  to  the  policy  marked 
out  by  the  act  of  1842  ;  both  were  for  the  establishment 
of  a  sinking  fund,  which,  within  a  given  period,  would 
ensure  the  payment  of  the  debt  of  the  state ;  and  both 
were  opposed  to  the  further  prosecution  of  the  public 
works,  if  such  prosecution  would  add  to  the  public  debt, 


416  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

or  in  any  manner  check  the  increase  of  the  sinking  fund. 
Mr.  Dennison  viewed  with  jealousy  and  suspicion  the 
sanguine  calculations  of  the  more  zealous  friends  of  in- 
ternal improvements,  in  respect  to  the  amount  of  income 
which  in  future  might  be  expected  from  the  canals,  while 
Mr.  Seymour  cherished  a  hope  that  those  calculations 
would  prove  correct.  Mr.  Dennison  exhibits  truthfully 
and  in  bold  relief  the  erroneous  and  false  representa- 
tions, on  the  faith  of  which  some  of  the  public  works 
were  undertaken,  and  Mr.  Seymour  cheers  us  with  the 
prospect  of  the  rich  treasures,  which,  it  may  reasonably 
be  anticipated,  will  be  realized  from  the  navigation  of 
our  magnificent  artificial  rivers.  The  feelings  with 
which  these  distinguished  gentlemen  drew  their  respect- 
ive reports,  undoubtedly  gave  a  different  coloring  to  the 
sentiments  they  expressed,  but  both  were  highly  enlight- 
ened and  talented  men,  and  both,  as  we  believe,  had 
solely  in  view,  and  were  honestly  seeking  to  promote 
and  sustain  measures  which,  in  their  judgment,  were 
best  calculated  to  ensure  the  permanent  prosperity  and 
glory  of  the  state. 

Immediately  after  the  reading  of  Mr.  Seymour's  re- 
port, Mr.  Hoffman  rose,  and  after  expressing  his  appro- 
bation of  many  parts  of  it,  and  complimenting  the  author 
for  the  ability  it  displayed,  stated  several  objections  to 
it ;  but  his  objections  were  rather  to  its  details  than  to 
the  principles  which  it  advocated.  He  and  those  acting 
with  him  expressed  a  serious  apprehension  that  the  bill 
reported  by  the  committee  was  intended  for  the  com- 
mencement of  a  series  of  measures  at  war  with  the  pol- 
icy of  the  act  of  '42,  and  which  eventually  would  over- 
throw that  policy.  The  bill,  however,  finally  passed 
both  houses,  substantially  as  reported  by  the  committee. 


1844.]      MR.  BARLOW'S  SPEECH  IN  THE  SENATE.  417 

excepting  the  addition  of  a  clause  restricting  the  annual 
expenditures  under  it  to  $150,000.  We  observe  that 
Messrs.  Allen  and  Bosworth  voted  against  this  bill ;  the 
whigs  generally  voted  for  it.  It  appears  that  for  some 
cause  Mr.  Hoffman  did  not  vote.  Sixty-seven  members 
voted  in  the  affirmative  and  thirty-eight  in  the  negative. 

In  the  senate  considerable  opposition  was  made,  and 
Mr.  Strong,  in  an  eloquent  speech,  denounced  the  bill  as 
a  palpable  departure  from  the  policy  contemplated  by 
the  act  of  '42. 

Mr.  Barlow,  who  generally  acted  with  the  radicals,, 
made  a  very  sensible  speech  on  the  affirmative  side  of 
the  question.  "  We  all  claimed,"  he  said,  "  to  be  in  favor 
of  the  policy  of  the  law  of  1842  ;  but  we  varied  in  opinion 
whether  this  law  clashes  with  that  policy.  He  believed 
it  did  not ;  for  the  policy  of  that  law  allowed  works  to 
be  preserved,  and  also  to  be  finished,  when  it  would  be 
better  economy  than  to  keep  the  old  canal  in  repair. 
This  bill  only  provides  for  the  same. 

"  There  is,"  said  Mr.  B.,  "  a  very  good  saying  of  Poor 
Richard,  that  'a  stitch  in  time  saves  nine.'  This  say- 
ing is  good  sense  in  practical  life;  and  I  believe  that  it 
is  wise,  and  may  apply  as  well  to  a  people  collectively, 
as  to  an  individual.  I  believe  that  good  economy  re- 
quires the  expenditure  of  a  reasonable  sum  ;  and  if  the 
expenditure  shall  be  made  within  the  good  saying  of 
Poor  Richard,  the  people  will  approve  of  it;  for  I  be- 
lieve their  judgment  is  deliberate  and  economical.  It 
was  not  pretended,  as  far  as  Mr.  B.  had  heard,  by  any 
one,  that  the  law  of  1842  contemplated  an  utter  aban- 
donment of  the  unfinished  works.  Then,  it  was  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  reconcile  the  neglect  of  an  appropriation 
to  preserve  them  with  a  regard  to  economy.  It  will  re- 
27 


418  POLITICAL,  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YOKK.  [1844. 

quire  but  a  small  sum  comparatively  to  finish  the  Scho- 
harie  aqueduct  and  Jordan  level,  and  secure  their  per- 
manency. How  can  any  one  have  a  doubt  as  to  what 
Poor  Richard  would  say  in  such  a  case,  when  he  saw 
the  large  amount  of  improvements  now  going  to  dilapi- 
dation and  waste  ?  Mr.  B.  was  confident  the  good 
judgment  of  the  people  would  approve  of  preserving 
them." 

The  vote  on  the  final  passage  of  the  bill  in  the  senate 
was  17  to  13 — all  the  whigs,  except  Mr.  Platt,  voting  in 
favor  of  it. 

Another  bill,  which  passed  the  assembly  about  the 
same  time  when  Mr.  Seymour's  bill  passed,  and  which 
was  entitled,  "  An  act  supplementary  to  the  act  entitled, 
An  act  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  the  debt  and  pre- 
serving the  credit  of  the  state,"  which  was  reported  by 
the  committee  of  ways  and  means,  and  better  known  by 
the  name  of  the  "  Finance  Bill,"  excited  much  discus- 
sion in  the  assembly.  It  will  be  recollected  that  the 
committee  of  ways  and  means,  or  finance,  consisted  of 
Messrs.  Hoffman,  Bos  worth,  L.  Lee,  Burt,  and  Davis. 
The  bill  as  reported  was  widely  different  from  what  Mr. 
Hoffman  and  Mr.  Lee  desired  it  should  be.  It  provi- 
ded for  a  loan  of  $1,200,000,  to  be  applied  to  the  pay- 
ment of  land  damages  on  the  several  canals,  of  arrear- 
ages to  contractors,  &c. 

This  bill,  together  with  a  proposed  amendment  to  the 
constitution,  restricting  the  power  of  the  legislature  as 
to  expenditures  for  internal  improvements,  produced  an 
earnest  and  protracted  debate,  and  a  review  of  the 
entire  history  of  the  canals  and  the  financial  system. 
Great  talents  as  well  as  great  zeal  were  displayed  on 
both  sides.  We  have  not  room  to  give  even  a  sketch 


1844.J  FINANCE  BILL  IN   THE  SENATE.  419 

of  these  debates.  The  difference  between  Mr.  Hoff- 
man and  his  friends,  and  Mr.  Seymour,  and  those  acting 
with  him,  seemed  in  substance  to  be  with  respect  to  the 
true  construction  of  the  act  of  1842.  Mr.  Hoffman 
contended  that,  according  to  the  spirit  of  that  act,  noth- 
ing ought  to  be  expended  other  than  for  necessary  re- 
pairs until  the  entire  debt  should  be  paid.  Mr.  Sey- 
mour, on  the  contrary,  though  he  explicitly  took  ground 
in  favor  of  the  law  of  1842,  and  urged  that  all  its  guar- 
antees and  pledges  should  be  rigidly  observed,  contended 
that  any  surplus,  beyond  the  amount  pledged,  should  be 
applied  to  the  extension  and  preservation  of  the  public 
works. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  two  parties,  in  the  heat  of 
debate,  should  have  charged  each  other  with  objects  and 
views  which  neither  party  entertained.  This  was  in 
fact  the  case ;  for  it  was  more  than  insinuated  by  the 
radicals,  that  the  hunkers  intended  to  evade  the  act  of 
1842,  and  to  gradually  introduce  a  system  of  measures 
which,  instead  of  providing  for  the  extinguishment, 
would  increase  the  public  debt.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
hunkers  charged  the  radicals  with  hostility  to  the  canals, 
and  with  a  desire,  through  mere  pique  and  prejudice,  to 
sacrifice  some  fifteen  or  twenty  millions  of  money  rather 
than  violate  their  abstract  doctrines  of  what  should  have 
been  the  policy  of  the  state  before  these  expenditures 
were  incurred. 

The  finance  bill,  as  reported  by  Mr.  Bosworth,  in  the 
end  passed  the  assembly  by  a  vote  of  62  to  29. 

It  did  not  reach  the  senate  until  Friday  evening,  the 
3d  of  May,  which  was  only  four  days  before  the  two 
houses  had  agreed  to  adjourn,  and  one  of  those  days  was 
Sunday. 


420  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1844. 

On  Monday,  the  Gth  of  May,  Mr.  Bockee,  chairman 
of  the  finance  committee,  called  for  the  consideration  of 
the  bill  from  the  assembly.  A  bill  professing  to  have 
the  same  object  in  view  had  been  reported  to  the  senate, 
but  action  on  it  had  been  deferred  until  the  assembly's 
bill  should  reach  the  senate,  so  that  the  senators  might 
elect  between  the  two  bills. 

Mr.  Bockee  moved  to  strike  out,  in  effect,  the  whole 
bill  from  the  assembly,  and  insert  that  of  the  senate  as  a 
substitute. 

The  senate  bill  struck  out  $1,200,000,  and  inserted  in 
lieu  thereof,  $800,000,  which  was  raised,  on  motion  of 
Mr.  Faulkner,  to  $900,000  ;  and  it  provided  for  a  direct 
tax  of  one-tenth  of  a  mill  on  a  dollar  to  secure  the  pay- 
ment of  the  interest  and  the  repayment  of  the  principal 
of  the  sum  so  to  be  borrowed.  Mr.  B:>ckee's  substitute 
was  adopted  in  the  senate,  and  in  this  form  the  bill 
passed,  there  being  only  four  votes,  Messrs.  Backus, 
Hard,  Platt,  and  Works,  in  the  negative. 

Mr.  Bockee,  although  regarded  as  a  hunker  during 
this  and  the  succeeding  session,  held  the  balance  be- 
tween the  two  sections  of  the  democratic  party ;  and 
this  position  placed  him  in  the  station,  as  respected  those 
sections,  of  an  umpire  between  them. 

The  debates  in  the  assembly  were  courteous,  which 
was,  perhaps,  in  part  owing  to  the  strict  parliamentary 
decorum  which  Mr.  Hoffman  always  observed  towards 
opponents  as  well  as  friends,  the  good-nature  of  Mr. 
Sampson,  and  the  constitutional  modesty,  liberality,  and 
kind  feeling  of  Mr.  Seymour. 

In  the  senate  there  was  much  more  bitterness  and  ir- 
ritability. That  body  contained  a  number  of  individ- 
uals remarkable  for  acerbity  of  temper.  As  they  held 


1844.]  AMENDMENTS  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION.  421 

their  seats  for  a  much  longer  time  than  the  members  of 
the  other  house,  they  became  more  deeply  imbued  with 
the  feelings  which  existed  at  Albany ;  and  these  hostile 
feelings  were  from  time  to  time  kept  alive  and  called 
into  action,  not  only  by  a  seeming  difference  of  opinion 
in  respect  to  measures,  but  by  controversies  about  the 
nominations  to  office  made  by  the  governor. 

Several  amendments  to  the  constitution  were  pro- 
posed and  adopted  by  the  joint  resolution  of  both  houses; 
the  first  of  which  was  to  make  the  act  of  1842  a  part  of 
the  constitution,  and  providing  that  the  revenue  therein 
mentioned  should  be  applied  to  the  purposes  specified,  in- 
cluding the  repayment  to  the  United  States  of  the  de- 
posite  fund.  This  latter  provision  seerns  to  us  an 
attempt  to  be  "righteous  overmuch;"  for  every  man  of 
common  sense  knew  then,  as  he  does  now,  that  a  ma- 
jority of  congress  will  never  be  obtained  which  will  call 
on  the  states  to  refund  that  money.  Amendments  were 
also  proposed  to  make  the  substance  of  Mr.  Loomis's 
resolution  a  portion  of  the  organic  law, — to  provide  for 
the  appointment  of  three  associate  chancellors,  and  to 
add  to  the  Supreme  Court  two  justices. 

In  the  discussions  that  occurred  when  these  amend- 
ments were  under  consideration,  so  much  difference  of 
opinion  was  evinced  on  the  question,  whether  the  reme- 
dies proposed  by  the  amendments  for  existing  defects 
were  the  best  that  could  be  devised,  that  little  hope  was 
entertained  that  they  would  be  approved  by  two-thirds 
of  the  members  who  might  be  elected  to  the  next  legis 
lature.  In  proof  of  this,  without  referring  to  the  votes 
of  individual  members,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state,  that 
the  two  houses  disagreed  as  to  what  amendments  should 
be  adopted ;  and  on  the  question  whether  the  senate 


422  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

should  insist  on  their  amendments,  or  propose  a  confer- 
ence, that  body  was  equally  divided,  and  a  conference 
was  directed  by  the  casting  vote  of  the  lieutenant- 
governor. 

During  the  summer  of  1843,  some  portion  of  the  po- 
litical press  of  the  state  had  taken  ground  in  favor  of  a 
convention  to  revise  the  constitution,  and,  as  we  have 
already  related,  a  public  meeting  was  held  at  Albany  in 
November  of  that  year,  at  which  Mr.  Hoffman  made  a 
speech,  and  resolutions  were  adopted  recommending  a 
convention,  and  several  radical  changes  in  our  organic 
law. 

The  constitution  of  1777  contained  no  provision  for 
future  amendments.  When,  therefore,  under  that  con- 
stitution, changes  in  the  constitutional  law,  from  an  al- 
teration of  the  condition  of  society,  or  from  a  great 
change  in  public  opinion,  became  necessary,  a  conven- 
tion was  indispensable.  It  was  a  measure  of  absolute 
necessity.  But  so  doubtful  were  the  legislature  of  1821 
of  their  power  to  act  in  the  premises,  that  they  did  not 
venture  to  pass  a  law  commanding  a  convention  ;  they 
•merely  enacted  that  it  be  "recommended"  to  the  people 
to  elect  delegates  to  meet  in  convention  to  propose 
amendments  to  the  constitution.  The  constitution  of 
1821  did  provide  for  its  own  amendment  by  authorizing 
•(he  legislature,  under  certain  restrictions,  to  propose 
jtnendments,  which,  when  approved  of  by  a  majority  of 
'the  people,  should  become  a  part  of  that  constitution. 
Hence  it  was  supposed  that  no  future  convention  would 
ever  be  called.  Judge  Bacon,  an  eminent  statesman 
who  was  a  member  from  Oneida  county,  on  giving  a 
final  vote  in  favor  of  the  constitution,  declared,  that  in 
his  judgment,  there  were  many  defects  in  the  instru- 


1844.]  POWER  TO  CALL   A   CONVENTION.  423 

ment,  and  some  provisions  which  were  an  improvement 
of  the  old  system  ;  but  he  thought  the  defects  overbal 
anced  the  improvements ;  that  nevertheless,  the  clause 
in  the  constitution  which  provided  for  its  own  amend- 
ment by  the  legislature  and  people  without  the  interven- 
tion of  a  convention,  and  thereby  dispensing  with  all 
future  conventions,  was,  in  his  opinion,  so  highly  valua- 
ble, that  it  produced  in  his  mind  a  balance  in  favor  of 
the  instrument  before  them,  and  he  therefore  should  vote 
for  its  adoption.* 

A  moment's  reflection  must  convince  any  reasonable 
man  that  a  law  providing  for  a  convention  to  revise  and 
amend  the  constitution  of  1821,  was  a  proceeding  be- 
yond the  pale  of  that  constitution.  Was  it  not  a  viola- 
tion of  it  ?  That  instrument  had  instructed  the  legisla- 
ture how  they  should  proceed  to  amend  it.  If  they 
chose  to  proceed  in  a  manner  different  from  their  instruc- 
tions, it  would  seem  that  they  would  not  only  exceed  their 
powers,  but  would  act  contrary  to  the  express  directions 
of  the  charter  under  which  they  were  sitting  as  a  legis- 
lature. If  this  reasoning  be  correct,  then  those  gentle- 
men who  passed  a  bill  for  a  convention,  acted  in  their 
individual  and  not  in  their  official  capacity,  and  the  act 
itself  was  a  mere  recommendation  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  intelligent  gentlemen  from  different  parts  of  the 
state  assembled  at  the  capitol  in  Albany.  But  although 
an  act  to  call  a  convention  to  alter  the  organic  law  was 
unconstitutional,  yet  the  right  of  revolution  remained  in 
the  people.  And  it  seems  to  us  that  the  whole  proceed- 
ings in  getting  up  the  late  convention,  must  be  sustained 
by  that  right  alone.  A  revolution  can  only  be  justified 


»  2  Political  History,  pp.  82,  83. 


424  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

as  a  measure  of  necessity.  Hence  those  in  favor  of  a 
convention  in  1844  and  1845,  were  bound  to  prove  the 
truth  of  two  propositions : 

1.  That  amendments  to  the  constitution  were  abso- 
lutely indispensable  and  necessary. 

2.  That  those  amendments  could  not  with  reasonable 
probability  be  made  in  the  way  provided  by  the  consti- 
tution of  1821. 

It  by  no  means  follows  that  because  the  constitution 
of  1846  was  founded  on  the  right  of  revolution,  that  it  is 
not  now  binding  on  the  people;  for  that  revolutionary 
measure  has  been  confirmed  by  the  fiat  of  the  people, 
declared  in  the  most  legitimate  way,  namely,  at  the  polls 
of  the  election.  It  is  equally  as  binding  as  the  Declar- 
ation of  Independence,  which  severed  the  United  States 
from  the  British  empire,  to  which  they  were  before  at- 
tached bv  the  most  solemn  forms  of  law. 

After  much  discussion  in  the  assembly,  during  the  ses- 
sion of  1844,  Mr.  Hall,  a  whig  member  from  the  county 
of  Cayuga,  whom  we  have  mentioned  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  introduced  a  bill  submitting  to  the  people  the 
question  whether  a  convention  should  be  called  to  revise 
and  amend  the  constitution.  This  bill  was  referred  to 
the  select  committee  on  constitutional  amendments,  con- 
sisting of  Messrs.  Bosworth,  Hoffman,  Seymour,  Samp- 
son, and  Stevens,  four  democrats  and  one  whig. 

Mr.  Hall  about  a  month  before  he  brought  in  this  bill 
had  offered  the  following  as  a  joint  resolution : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  following  amendment  be  proposed 
to  the  constitution,  that  it  be  referred  to  the  legislature 
next  to  be  chosen,  and  published  as  required  by  the  eighth 
article :  '  For  the  purpose  of  the  election  of  members  to 
the  assembly,  the  state  shall  be  divided  by  the  legisla- 


1844.]  MR.  HALL'S  CONVENTION  BILL.  425 

ture  next  in  session  after  the  adoption  of  this  article, 
into  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  districts  of  contigu- 
ous territory,  but  no  district  to  be  composed  of  portions 
of  more  than  one  county.'  " 

This  resolution  was  referred  to  Mr.  Bosworth's  com- 
mittee, who,  after  some  time  taken  for  consideration, 
declined  to  report  it  to  the  house.  This  refusal  induced 
Mr.  Hall  and  his  friends  to  believe  that  a  majority  of 
the  committee  and  the  administration  party  in  the  house 
were  opposed  to  every  substantial  reform,  and  he  there- 
upon drew  and  introduced  the  bill  to  which  we  have  al- 
luded. Mr.  Hall  may  therefore  fairly  be  considered  as 
the  pioneer  of  the  whig  party  in  the  enterprise  of  a  con- 
stitutional reform  through  the  agency  of  a  convention. 

This  bill  was  modelled  after  the  convention  bill  of 
1821,  and  contained  substantially  the  same  provisions  as 
that  introduced  the  following  year  by  Mr.  Grain  of  Her- 
kimer.  It  submitted  the  question,  whether  a  convention 
should  be  held,  to  the  people,  and  directed,  in  case  a  ma- 
jority was  found  to  have  voted  for  a  convention,  that  an 
election  of  delegates  should  be  had,  and  a  convention 
held  for  revising  the  constitution,  and  that  the  instrument 
when  revised  should  be  submitted  to  the  people  for  their 
approval.  "  This  movement,"  says  a  respectable  whig 
correspondent,  who  was  then  a  member  of  the  assem- 
bly, "  shadowed  forth  the  purpose  of  the  whig  party  in 
respect,  to  constitutional  reform  ;  and  this  the  more  prom- 
inently when  it  came  to  be  understood  that  Mr.  Stevens 
of  Albany,  a  member  of  the  committee,  concurred  with 
Mr.  Hall  in  the  propriety  of  the  measure.  The  com- 
mittee nevertheless  declined  to  report  the  bill  to  the 
house,  notwithstanding  the  urgent  solicitations  of  Hoff- 
man and  Stevens,  the  minority  of  the  committee." 


426  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OP  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

When  the  refusal  of  the  responsible  majority  of  that 
committee  became  known  to  Mr.  Hall,  a  caucus  of  the 
whig  members  of  the  senate  and  assembly  was  held  at 
the  Eagle  Tavern  in  Albany,  for  the  purpose  of  consid- 
ering the  propriety  of  making  a  further  demonstration 
on  the  subject  of  reform.  What  occurred  at  that  meet- 
ing may  be  inferred  from  the  resolution  introduced  by 
Mr.  Hall  the  next  day,  [March  15th,]  to  instruct  the 
committee  to  report,  with  or  without  amendment,  the 
bill  introduced  by  him  in  relation  to  a  convention  to  re- 
vise the  constitution.  But  the  motion  was  strenuously 
opposed  by  the  majority,  and  by  their  vote  laid  upon  the 
table,  where  it  remained  until  the  2d  day  of  April  follow- 
ing, when  it  was  taken  up  for  consideration  and  dis- 
cussion. In  the  discussion,  which  was  somewhat  vehe- 
ment, Messrs.  Hoffman,  Stevens,  Hall,  Allen,  Seymour, 
and  Bosworth  participated.  The  three  former  advoca- 
ted, and  the  three  latter  opposed  its  passage.  The  only 
speech  which  was  fully  reported  was  delivered  by  Mr. 
Hall.  It  was  published  in  the  Evening  Journal,  and  is 
believed  to  be  the  first  published  legislative  speech  ex- 
tant in  favor  of  the  convention  project.  "  In  this  discus- 
sion, Messrs.  Seymour  and  Allen,"  says  our  whig  corre- 
spondent, "  averred  that  it  was  a  whig  project  to  disor- 
ganize the  democratic  party  in  this  state,  and  to  Avhich 
they  feared  it  was  the  intention  of  a  branch  of  their  own 
party  to  ally  itself.  These  speeches  induced  many  mem- 
bers to  withdraw  from  the  house,  and  thereby  avoid  a 
vote  upon  the  question.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  de- 
bate but  ninety-four  members  were  in  their  seats  to  vote 
upon  the  subject.  Mr.  Gorham  moved  to  lay  the  reso- 
lutions on  the  table,  upon  which  a  test  vote  of  the  re- 
maining members  was  given — ayes  56,  noes  38  ;  all 


1814.]  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.  427 

the  whigs  voting  in  the  negative  except  the  member 
from  Allegany,  (who  was  not  in  favor  of  a  convention.) 
Had  the  remaining  34  members  been  in  the  house,  the 
result  would  have  been  against  laying  on  the  table,  and 
in  favor  of  the  passage  of  the  resolution,  as  enough  of 
them  were  so  committed  had  they  voted  at  all."  This 
vote,  however,  was  regarded  as  decisive  of  the  fate  of 
the  convention  bill  for  that  session,  and  relieved  the 
committee,  who,  in  expectation  of  its  passage,  had  ac- 
tually prepared  a  written  report  in  favor  of  the  bill,  to 
be  used  in  the  event  of  the  passage  of  the  resolution. 

Subsequently  Mr.  L.  Lee,  a  radical  democrat  from 
the  county  of  Orange,  introduced  a  resolution  directing 
the  select  committee  to  report  a  bill  recommending  a 
convention.  This  gave  rise  to  an  animated  debate,  and 
led  to  a  discussion  of  the  question  of  its  consideration, 
which  showed  the  state  of  parties  in  the  house,  as  re- 
spected that  measure.  On  this  occasion,  Messrs.  Hoff- 
man, Bosworth,  and  others,  among  the  democrats,  and 
Mr.  Stevens,  the  whig  leader,  declared  themselves  for  a 
convention.  The  vote  in  favor  of  considering  Mr.  Lee's 
resolution  stood  58  to  46.  The  58  votes  were  given 
by  31  democrats  and  27  whigs,  and  the  46  votes  against 
the  consideration  were  given  by  43  democrats  and  three 
whigs.  This  vote  strongly  indicated  a  majority  in  favor 
of  a  convention.  The  question  involved  in  the  resolu- 
tion was  earnestly  discussed,  but  the  session  finally  pass- 
ed away  without  any  effectual  action  upon  it.* 

*  Our  whig  correspondent,  from  whom  we  have  quoted,  in  a  letter  now 
before  us,  states  "  that  Gov.  Seward  was  from  the  first  of  the  opinion,  that 
although  the  constitution  pointed  out  a  way  in  which  it  could  be  amended, 
A  great  public  and  paramount  necessity  justified  the  call  for  a  convention. 
He  held,  as  Gov.  Clinton  did,  with  respect  to  the  convention  of  1821,  that 


428  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

On  the  3d  day  of  May  a  bill  passed  the  senate,  which 
appears  to  have  been  introduced  by  Gen.  Clark,  abolish- 
ing the  office  of  non-acting  canal  commissioner,  and  pro- 
viding that  there  should  be  but  four  commissioners,  who 
should  be  elected  at  a  general  election  by  the  people. 

necessity  justified  a  convention  whenever  the  existing  constitution  proved 
insullicicnt  for  its  own  amendment  He  deemed  the  judiciary  system,  an 
established  by  the  constitution  of  1821,  the  most  defective  part  of  that  in- 
strument. He  also  was  dissatisfied  with  the  restrictions  it  contained  on 
the  elective  franchise.  He  was  consulted,  and  fully  concurred  in  the  pol- 
icy of  introducing  a  convention  bill  into  the  legislature  of  1844."  Our 
correspondent,  in  relation  to  the  course  pursued  by  the  whig  editors  on  the 
convention  question,  further  states  that  "  Mr.  George  Dawsou,  at  present 
an  associate  editor  of  the  Evening  Journal,  who  in  1844  conducted  the 
Rochester  Democrat,  was  the  first  whig  editor  who  advocated  a  conven- 
tion to  revise  the  constitution.  When  Mr.  Hall  i.itroduced  his  convention 
bill  into  the  legislature,  Mr.  Dawson  was  at  Albany,  where  he  prepared 
a  slroug  article  approving  of  Mr.  Hall's  course,  and  urged  the  whigs  of 
Western  New  York  to  support  the  bill.  This  was  in  February,  1844. 

"  The  next  whig  editor  who  took  ground  in  favor  of  the  convention 
movement  was  Henry  Oliphant,  the  editor  of  the  Auburn  Daily  Adverti- 
ser, who  wrote  and  published  several  excellent  articles  in  favor  of  Mr. 
Hall's  bill,  and  of  constitutional  reform.  Mr.  Greeley,  of  the  New  York 
Tribune,  soon  after  announced  himself  in  favor  of  a  convention,  and  also 
declared  in  favor  of  Mr.  Hall's  bill. 

"  Mr.  Thurlow  Weed,  notwithstanding  his  great  respect  for  the  opinion* 
of  Mr.  Seward,  thought  it  impolitic,  on  the  eve  of  an  important  election, 
to  commit  himself  and  his  paper  in  favor  of  a  convention.  Michael  Hoff- 
man was  a  member  of  the  assembly  in  1844.  He  had  since  1842  favored 
a  convention  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  but  in  consequence  of  ill  health  took 
no  very  active  part  on  the  subject  during  the  session,  except  uniformly  to 
vote  with  the  friends  of  constitutional  reform  by  means  of  a  convention.'' 

We  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  statement  of  our  correspondent 
b  substantially  correct ;  and  we  will  add,  that  the  Albany  Atlas,  from  the 
moment  the  convention  project  was  first  agitated  until  the  question  in  re- 
lation to  it  was  decided,  supported  the  measure  with  its  usual  zeal  and 
vigor.  In  this  course,  BO  far  as  we  can  recollect,  it  was  followed  and  sus- 
tained by  most  and  perhaps  all  the  radical  newspapers  published  ill  the 
•tate. 


1844.]  STATE    LIBRARIAN.  429 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  canal  commissioners  were 
formerly  appointed  by  the  legislature.  The  bill  was 
sent  to  the  assembly,  and  on  the  4th  of  May  (the  next 
day)  it  was  referred  to  the  canal  committee.  Mr.  Linn 
moved  that  the  committee  should  be  instructed  forthwith 
to  report  the  bill.  Mr.  Seymour  opposed  this  unusual 
haste  in  passing  through  so  important  a  bill,  which  he 
said  was  introduced  in  the  senate  the  day  before.  The 
bill,  however,  for  some  reason,  seems  to  have  been  a 
favorite  of  the  house,  for  Mr.  Linn's  motion  prevailed 
by  a  large  majority,  and  it  passed  that  evening. 

One  other  transaction  took  place  which  excited  some 
irritation.  Formerly  the  librarian  of  the  state  library 
was  appointed  by  the  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  and 
state  officers.  In  the  year  1842,  Mr.  William  Cassidy, 
a  young  man  who  had  many  friends  in  Albany,  as  well 
on  account  of  his  own  character  as  on  that  of  his  fa- 
ther, who,  though  little  known  out  of  Albany,  with  all 
the  ardent  native  benevolence  of  an  Irishman,  literally 
fed  the  hungry  and  clothed  the  naked,  was  appointed 
librarian  by  the  votes  of  the  state  officers — Messrs. 
Young,  Flagg,  and  Barker — against  the  votes  of  Gov- 
ernor Seward  and  Lieutenant-governor  Bradish.  He 
continued  to  hold  the  office  till  June,  1844  ;  but  in  the 
winter  of  that  year  an  act  was  passed  constituting  the 
regents  of  the  university  trustees  of  the  state  library, 
and  transferring  to  them  the  power  of  appointing  the 
librarian.  It  has  been  suggested  by  the  friends  of  Mr. 
Cassidy,  that  one  cause  of  passing  this  act  was  to  pro- 
cure his  removal  from  the  office.  However  this  may 
be,  on  the  1st  day  of  June,  at  a  meeting  of  the  regents, 
Mr.  Cassidy  was  removed.  We  ought  to  have  men- 
tioned, that  he  had  for  some  time  before  been  one  of  the 


430  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

editors  of  the  Albany  Atlas  ;  and  it  was  urged,  on  a  mo- 
tion for  his  removal,  that  his  time  and  attention  were  so 
much  engaged  in  the  management  of  that  papei,  that  he 
did  not,  and  could  not,  devote  the  necessary  time  to  the 
proper  performance  of  his  duties  as  a  librarian  ;  but  no 
specific  charge  of  official  negligence  was  made  against 
him.  The  board  of  regents  proper  were  equally  divided 
on  the  question  of  removal.  The  ex-officio  regents  then 
present  were,  the  secretary  of  state,  Col.  Young,  and 
Governor  Bouck  and  Lieutenant-governor  Dickinson. 
Mr.  Young  voted  against  the  removal  and  Mr.  Dickin- 
son for  it.  This  cast  the  responsibility  on  Gov.  Bouck 
of  giving  a  casting  vote,  and  he  gave  that  vote  for  the 
removal  of  Cassidy.  The  course  of  the  governor  on  this 
question  increased  the  hostility  and  irritation  against  him. 
The  whigs,  though  few  in  number  during  this  session, 
were  under  the  advisement  and  direction  of  several 
very  sagacious  and  far-seeing  politicians,  such  as  Mr. 
Hard  and  Mr.  Rhoades  of  the  senate,  and  Mr.  Stevens 
and  Mr.  Linn  of  the  assembly.  Their  policy,  and  in 
our  judgment  their  true  policy,  was  to  do  nothing. 
They  perceived  that  while  they  acted  as  apparent  spec- 
tators, the  hostility  between  the  hunkers  and  radicals  was 
every  day  increasing,  and  the  breach  between  them  was 
widening.  They  held  the  balance  of  power  between 
those  two  sections  ;  and  they  exercised  that  power  so 
judiciously  that  neither  the  hunkers  nor  radicals  could, 
with  any  plausibility,  charge  the  adverse  party  with 
a  combination  with  the  whigs.  The  effect  of  this 
policy  was  to  increase  the  hostility  of  each  section 
against  the  other,  which  of  course  weakened  and 
deadened  the  energy  of  the  democrats  as  an  entire 
party.  Thus,  in  the  appointment  of  state  printer,  they 


1844.]         MR.  HULBUKD  AND  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL.  431 

sustained  the  hunkers; in  rejecting  the  nominations  of 
the  governor,  in  the  senate,  they  generally  acted  with 
the  radicals  ;  on  financial  questions  and  on  the  subject 
of  internal  improvements  they  voted  with  the  hunkers, 
but  on  the  subject  of  constitutional  amendments,  and  the 
call  of  a  convention,  they  generally  acted  in  concert 
with  the  radical  wing  of  the  democratic  party.  We  do 
not  mean  to  insinuate  that  the  action  of  the  whigs  on 
these  great  questions  was  governed  solely  by  party  con- 
siderations. The  probability  is,  they  were  quite  as  sin- 
cere and  conscientious  as  were  either  portion  of  the 
other  party. 

We  cannot  consent  to  conclude  this  very  imperfect 
account  of  the  legislation  during  the  session  of  1844. 
without  mentioning  the  great  and  important  services  of 
Mr.  Hulburd  in  the  establishment  of  the  normal  school. 
He  personally  visited  the  normal  schools  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  on  his  return  made  a  report  containing  the  in- 
formation he  had  acquired,  and  the  result  of  his  own  re- 
flections on  the  subject,  which  concluded  by  recom- 
mending the  establishment  of  such  an  institution  in 
Albany. 

The  report  is  drawn  with  great  ability,  and  in  every 
line  of  it  the  benevolent  heart  of  the  author  is  developed. 
It  concludes  with  the  following  eloquent  and  touching 


•'  In  concluding  this  long  report,  the  committee  would 
fain  ask,  is  there  no  responsibility  resting  upon  this  legis- 
lature to  do  something  to  lessen  some  of  the  evils  of  our 
school  system  ?  Is  there  no  obligation  resting  upon  us 
to  make  at  least  an  effort  to  renovate  the  schools — to 
supply  them  with  competent  teachers  ?  Can  we  ad- 
journ, having  filled  a  volume  with  private  and  local  bills, 


432  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

without  yielding  a  pittance  of  our  time  to  consider,  and 
perfect,  and  pass  an  act  of  vital  interest  to  the  right  edu- 
cation, the  well-being,  of  more  than  six  hundred  thousand 
of  the  children  of  this  state  ?  Have  none  of  us  read 
and  felt  as  that  noble  Prussian  expressed  himself:  'I 
promised  God  that  I  would  look  upon  every  Prussian 
peasant  as  a  being  who  could  complain  of  me  before 
God,  if  I  did  not  provide  for  him  the  best  education,  as 
a  man  and  a  Christian,  which  it  was  possible  for  me  to 
provide  ?' 

"'When  education  is  to  be  rapidly  advanced,'  says 
President  Basche,  '  seminaries  for  teachers  afford  the 
means  of  securing  this  result.'  Do  we  not  owe  it  to  the 
too-long  neglected  children — do  we  not  owe  it  to  the 
slate  itself — do  we  not  owe  it  to  our  whole  country,  that 
these  'approved  means'  of  the  rapid  advance  of  the  best 
education  should  at  once  be  prepared  ? 

"  '  Duties  rising  out  of  good  possessed, 
And  prudent  caution  needful  to  avert 
Impending  evil,  equally  require 

That  the  whole  people  should  be  taught  and  trainrd. 
So  shall  licentiousness  and  black  resolve 
Be  rooted  out,  and  virtuous  habits  take 
Their  place  ;  and  genuine  piety  descend, 
Like  an  inheritance,  from  age  to  age.' " 

We  hardly  need  add,  that  the  recommendation  of  Mr. 
Hulburd  was  effectual,  and  that  a  law  passed  in  pursu- 
ance of  it. 

The  legislature  adjourned  on  the  7th  of  May,  and  the 
evening  preceding  the  democratic  members  held  the 
usual  caucus  for  the  purpose  of  adopting  an  address  to 
their  constituents,  and  resolutions  expressive  of  their 
opinions  on  the  prominent  political  questions  which  then 
excited  the  attention  of  the  public. 


1844.]  LEGISLATIVE  CAUCUS.  433 

Mr.  Speaker  Litchfield  was  appointed  chairman,  and 
Mr.  Dennison,  of  the  senate,  and  Mr.  Carr,  of  the  as- 
sembly, were  chosen  secretaries. 

The  address  was  reported  by  Judge  Bockee,  and  did 
not  encounter  any  opposition  ;  but  the  fifth  and  sixth 
resolutions,  which  approved  of  the  official  conduct  of 
Governor  Bouck  and  Lieutenant-governor  Dickinson, 
were  opposed. 

Mr.  Glazier,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  said,  that  having 
the  unity  of  the  democratic  party  sincerely  at  heart,  and 
believing  that  this  could  only  be  promoted  by  laying  on 
the  table  the  three  resolutions  preceding  the  last,  [those 
in  relation  to  the  governor,  lieutenant-governor,  and 
state  officers,]  he  accordingly  made  that  motion,  and 
called  for  the  ayes  and  noes  on  it. 

The  motion  to  lay  these  resolutions  on  the  table  was 
lost,  twenty-three  members  voting  for  it,  and  seventy- 
nine  against  it.  Speeches  were  made,  and  some  disor- 
der in  the  gallery  occurred,  but  the  resolutions  and  ad- 
dress were  finally  adopted. 

Immediately  upon  the  adjournment  the  following  note 
was  delivered  to  Mr.  Corning,  chairman  of  the  commit- 
tee appointed  to  superintend  the  publication  of  the  ad- 
dress and  resolutions : 

"  ALBANY,  May  nth,  1844. 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  democratic  members  of  the 
legislature,  entirely  dissent  from  so  much  of  one  of  the 
resolutions  adopted  at  the  caucus  of  democratic  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature,  held  last  evening,  as  declares, 
that  William  C.  Bouck  has  adhered  with  fidelity  to  the 
sound  policy  which  has  ever  characterized  democratic 
administrations,  and  advanced  the  state  in  a  career  of 


434  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [l8<H. 

prosperity  and  honor ;'  and  we,  for  that  reason,  direct 
that  our  names  be  not  attached  to  the  address  and  reso- 
lutions adopted  at  that  caucus. 

"  John  Porter,  Robert  Dennison,  H.  W.  Strong, 
Albert  Lester,  Ab'm  A.  Deyo,  Edmund  Var- 
ney,  John  B.  Scott,  Samuel  Young,  R.  C. 
Field,  L.  C.  Stimpson,  David  H.  Smith,  Geo. 
G.  Glazier,  George  W.  Tuthill,  F.  D.  Flanders, 
Leonard  Lee,  Peter  H.  Warren,  Daniel  Noyes, 
Michael  Hoffman,  William  H.  Jansen,  R.  W. 
Clark,  Alban  Strong." 

"  ALBANY,  May  nth,  1844. 
"Hon.  E.  CORNING, — 

"  DEAR  SIR  : — The  undersigned,  not  being  able  to  sub- 
scribe to  the  tariff  doctrine  set  forth  in  the  address 
adopted  at  the  democratic  caucus  last  evening,  and  Mr. 
Van  Buren  not  being  their  first  choice  for  the  presiden- 
cy, request  that  their  names  shall  not  be  appended  to 
the  said  address. 

"GEORGE  G.  GLAZIER, 
"F.  D.  FLANDERS." 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  the  whigs 
published  an  address,  signed  by  forty  members.  It  is 
written  with  great  tact  and  ability.  We  know  not  who 
was  its  author,  but  we  think  we  can  discover  pretty 
strong  traces  of  THURLOW  WEED  through  the  whole  of  it. 

It  commences  with  a  most  scorching  sarcasm  at  the 
division  of  the  democratic  party  and  its  causes.  As  re- 
spects the  public  debt,  it  says  : 

"  In  the  review  which  has  been  made  of  the  past,  it 
has  appeared,  and  is  now  admitted,  that  only  $4,075,000 
of  the  whole  public  debt  was  borrowed  by  the  whig  ad- 


1844.]  CONSTITUTIONAL    REFORM.  435 

ministration  and  their  predecessors,  and  more  than  three 
millions  in  performing  contracts  actually  made  by  those 
predecessors.  In  the  darkest  hour  the  state  has  ever 
seen,  the  whigs  performed  every  contract  without  taxa- 
tion. Their  successors,  with  the  aid  of  a  tax  of  $600,000, 
have  broken  contracts  on  which  they  have  already  sub- 
jected the  state  to  8800,000  damages,  and  the  future 
aggregate  of  this  ruinous  expenditure  cannot  yet  be  con- 
ceived." 

We  have  omitted  to  state,  as  we  ought  tovhave  done, 
that  under  the  act  of  congress  for  the  distribution  of  the 
avails  of  the  sales  of  public  lands,  about  $90,000  had 
been  apportioned  to  the  state  of  New  York,  and  for- 
warded to  Albany  by  the  United  States  treasurer ;  but 
that  this  state  for  a  long  time  (one  or  two  years)  re- 
fused to  receive  the  money,  and  that  the  democratic 
members  of  the  legislature  in  1844  persisted  in  such  re- 
fusal. This  course  of  conduct  the  whig  address  con- 
demns in  terms,  as  we  think,  of  just  and  well-merited 
severity.  That  money  was,  by  a  law  of  congress,  the 
property  of  the  state  of  New  York.  Whether  the  law 
for  the  distribution  was  wise  or  unwise,  could  in  no  way 
affect  the  right  or  the  duty  to  use  the  money  for  the 
benefit  of  the  state.  It  was  incumbent  on  the  legislature 
to  make  the  best  use  of  that  as  well  as  of  any  other 
property  belonging  to  the  state.  The  affectation  (for  it 
was  little  other)  of  unwillingness  to  receive  and  appro- 
priate it,  was  a  kind  of  political  prudery,  discreditable 
to  any  party. 

The  signers  of  the  address  declare  themselves  in  fa- 
vor of  a  convention  to  amend  the  constitution,  and  spe- 
cify several  alterations  in  the  organic  law  which  they 
deem  necessary,  among  which  are  a  change  in  our  judi- 


136  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

ciary  system,  an  extension  of  the  right  of  suffrage  to  all  cit- 
izens, and  the  equalization  of  representation  by  dividing 
the  state  into  senate  and  assembly  districts.  They  repu- 
diate any  restriction  of  the  legislative  power  to  create  debt 
or  to  loan  money.  They  claim  to  be  the  authors  and  pa- 
trons of  the  law  requiring  that  the  canal  commissioners 
shall  be  elected  by  the  people.  They  condemn  any  ma- 
terial alteration  of  the  tariff  law  of  1842,  and  they  repu- 
diate the  project  of  annexing  Texas  to  the  U.  States.  They 
inform  their  constituents  that  they  have  recommended 
MILLARD  FILLMORE  for  the  office  of  vice-president ;  and 
they  pronounce  a  handsome  eulogium  upon  Mr.  Clay. 
The  following  is  the  concluding  part  of  the  address  : 

"The  whig  party  is  devoted  to  progress,  but  it  does 
not  destroy.  It  seeks  to  establish  perfect  equality  of  po- 
litical rights  ;  but  it  levels  upwards,  not  downwards,  by 
education  and  benignant  legislation,  not  by  subverting 
established  laws  or  institutions.  It  is  the  party  of  law, 
of  order,  of  enterprise,  of  improvement,  of  beneficence, 
of  hope,  and  of  humanity.  Through  the  action  of  this 
great  and  generous  party,  every  attainable  national  good 
may  be  ultimately  secured;  and  through  its  action  we 
can  best  promote  the  more  comprehensive  interests  of 
freedom  and  of  humanity  throughout  the  world." 

No  one  can  fail  to  perceive  that  the  closing  scene 
tended  to  widen  the  breach  between  the  two  sections  of 
the  democratic  party,  and  to  leave  on  the  minds  of  the 
members  at  parting  an  impression  which  would  continue 
during  the  recess  of  the  legislature.  They  must  have 
quitted  the  capitol  with  feelings  which  disposed  them  to 
encourage  dissensions  in  the  several  counties  which  they 
represented,  rather  than  to  endeavor  to  excite  zeal  and 
active  efforts  in  support  of  the  common  cause. 


1844.]  ISSUE  AT  THE  ELECTION  IN  1840.  437 


CHAPTER  XV. 

BALTIMORE   CONVENTION. 

The  issue  on  which  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  beaten  in  1840 — Annexation  of 
Texas — Mr.  Van  Buren's  Letter  to  Mr.  Hammit — Intrigues  at  Wash- 
ington—Two-third  Rule— Proceedings  at  the  Baltimore  Convention- 
Nomination  of  James  K.  Polk— Mr.  Wright  declines  to  be  a  Candidate 
for  Vice-President — George  M.  Dallas  is  nominated  Vice-Presideiit — 
Whig  Convention — Mr.  Clay  nominated  for  President — Mr.  Freling- 
huysen  for  Vice-President — Millard  Fillmore  supported  by  the  New 
York  Delegation — His  Character. 

THE  principal,  if  not  the  only  material  issue  on  which 
Mr.  Van  Buren  was  beaten  in  1840  was  on  the  sub- 
treasury  system,  which  he  recommended  and  supported, 
and  which,  under  his  administration,  was  established  by 
law.  Notwithstanding  the  national  democratic  party 
were  most  effectually  beaten  on  that  issue,  the  more  they 
reflected  on  the  measure,  the  more  they  were  confirmed 
in  the  opinion  that  it  was  a  wise  and  salutary  one.  All 
men  became  convinced  that  the  state  banks  could  not 
be  safely  relied  upon  as  the  fiscal  agents  of  the  govern- 
ment, all  felt  that  the  deposites  of  the  national  revenue 
in  those  institutions  had  led,  and  saw  that  it  must  here- 
after lead  to  expansions  and  contractions  in  the  circula-' 
ting  medium  of  the  country,  ruinous  to  the  business  part' 
of  community.  The  only  alternative  then  remaining 
was  a  national  bank,  against  the  chartering  of  which  by 
congress  the  whole  democratic  party  was  solemnly 
pledged.  No  one  had  ever  objected  to  the  talents,  or 
deportment,  or  the  purity  of  the  private  character  of 


438  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YOEK.  [1844. 

Mr.  Van  Buren.  He  had  therefore  been  broken  down 
for  the  sole  reason,  that  he  had  sustained  and  endeav- 
ored to  carry  into  effect  the  political  principles  of  the 
party  to  which  he  belonged.  It  would  seem,  therefore, 
that  there  could  be  no  objections  to  his  renomination  by 
the  same  party,  except  those  arising  from  factious  mo- 
tives. 

The  democratic  convention  to  designate  a  candidate 
for  president  was  to  meet  at  Baltimore  on  the  27th  of 
May,  and  delegates  to  that  assembly  were  chosen,  we 
believe,  in  all  the  states  of  the  Union,  during  the  prece- 
ding winter.  A  large  majority  of  those  delegates  were 
instructed  by  the  respective  state  conventions,  by  which 
they  were  chosen,  to  vote,  and  use  their  influence  for  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  Thus  every  thing  indi- 
cated concord  and  harmony.  But  in  the  early  part  of 
•the  spring  of  1844,  a  question  arose  which  materially 
changed  the  feelings  of  the  democratic  party  in  the 
southern  section  of  the  Union  towards  Mr.  Van  Buren. 

Some  six  or  seven  years  before  the  period  of  which 
we  are  now  speaking,  Texas,  a  Mexican  province,  con- 
ceded to  be  such  by  more  than  one  treaty  solemnly  en- 
tered into  by  the  United  States,  had  declared  itself 
independent  of  the  government  of  Mexico,  and  her  in- 
dependence had  been  acknowledged  by  the  United  States 
and  several  other  nations.  Mexico  attempted  to  recover 
her  revolted  province,  but  the  war  she  waged  against  the 
insurgents  was  feeble  and  unsuccessful.  A  suspension 
of  active  hostilities  had  once  or  twice  been  agreed  on, 
but  the  war  continued.  In  this  state  of  things  Mr.  Cnl- 
houn,  secretary  of  state,  under  the  direction  of  President 
Tyler,  negotiated  with  Texas  a  treaty  of  annexation, 
and  that  treaty  was  before  the  senate  of  the  United 


1844.]  ANNEXATION  OF  TEXAS.  439 

States  in  the  winter  of  1844.  The  reasons  urged  in 
favor  of  this  measure  were,  the  contiguity  of  that  terri- 
tory to  the  United  States,  and  its  great  value  ;  that  we  had 
erred  in  the  treaties  we  had  made  with  Mexico  and  Texas 
in  conceding  that  that  country  belonged  to  Mexico  ;  and 
that  it  was  our  duty  to  interfere  to  check  the  carnage 
produced  by  a  ruthless  war,  which  Mexico  had  lately 
threatened  to  render  still  more  ruthless  and  sanguinary. 
But  Mr.  Calhoun,  the  official  organ  of  the  government, 
and  a  bold,  frank,  and  honorable  man,  who  despised  sub- 
terfuge, in  his  correspondence  with  Great  Britain  put 
forth  other  and  different  reasons  for  the  treaty  of  annex- 
ation ;  which  were, — that  annexation  was  indispensable, 
in  order  to  preserve  and  perpetuate  slavery  in  the  slave- 
holding  states.  The  treaty  failed  of  obtaining  a  consti- 
tutional majority  in  the  senate  ;  but  Texas  was  ulti- 
mately annexed  to  the  United  States  by  A  JOINT  RESO- 
LUTION ! 

We  will  add  but  one  other  remark  on  the  subject  of 
annexation.  After  Texas  became  independent,  she  pro- 
vided by  her  constitution  for  the  establishment  of  slavery, 
but  prohibited  the  importation  of  slaves  from  all  parts  of 
the  world  except  the  United  States.  This  gave  the 
slaveholding  states  a  monopoly  of  the  slave-trade  in 
that  territory.  Shortly  before  Mr.  Calhoun  commenced 
his  negotiations,  it  was  understood  that  through  the  in- 
fluence of  Great  Britain,  Mexico  had  agreed  to  terminate 
the  war  against  Texas,  and  acknowledge  her  indepen- 
dence, if  she  would  so  far  alter  her  constitution  as  to 
abolish  slavery,  and  would  stipulate  not  to  annex  herself 
to  the  United  States.  Had  Texas  abolished  slavery,  the 
sale  of  the  surplus  slave  population  in  Virginia,  South  Car- 
olina, and  the  other  slaveholding  states,  would  in  future 


440  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OP  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

have  been  prevented,  which  Mr.  Calhoun  foresaw  at  no 
very  distant  period  would  result  in  the  abolition  of  sla- 
very in  those  states.  It  was  also  pretty  well  understood 
that  Texas  would  accede  to  the  proposition  of  Mexico, 
and  would  abolish  slavery.*  Mr.  Calhoun  considered 
annexation  as  the  only  means  of  preventing  the  consum- 
mation of  this  project ;  and  he  was  therefore  right  in 
stating  that  annexation  was  essential  to  the  preservation 
and  perpetuity  of  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  slave- 
holding  states. 

In  this  state  of  affairs,  the  people  of  those  states,  and 
especially  the  members  of  congress  representing  them, 
naturally  felt  an  anxious  solicitude  to  learn  the  opinion 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren  on  the  subject  of  annexation.  This 
solicitude  was  increased  by  the  fact  that  Mr.  Clay  was 
then  the  avowed  whig  presidential  candidate,  and  it  was 
generally  believed  he  was  opposed  to  uniting  Texas  with 
this  government  without  the  consent  and  against  the 
wishes  of  Mexico.  With  a  view  to  elicit  the  views  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  on  the  27th  of  March,  Mr.  Hammit,  a 
member  of  congress  from  the  state  of  Mississippi,  and  a 
delegate  to  the  Baltimore  Convention,  addressed  a  letter 
to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  requesting  him  in  his  reply  to  declare 
his  opinion  on  the  subject  of  annexation.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  Mr.  Hammit  wrote  this  letter  at  the  re- 
quest of  Mr.  Walker,  a  senator  from  Mississippi,  and 
perhaps  many  other  influential  democratic  members 
from  the  South  ;  and  it  may  fairly  be  inferred  from  the 
terms  of  the  letter,  that  Mr.  Hammit  meant  to  give 
Mr.  Van  Buren  to  understand  that  his  support,  and  that 
of  those  friends  who  thought  with  him,  would  depend 


*  See  the  Georgia  speech  of  General  Latnar,  vice-president  of  Texas. 


1844.]  VAN  BUREN'S  REPLY  TO  HAMMIT.  441 

upon  Mr.  Van  Buren's  answer.  "  I  am,"  said  Mr.  Ham- 
mit,  "  an  unpledged  delegate  to  the  Baltimore  Conven- 
tion." *  *  * 

"  It  is  believed  that  a  full  and  frank  declaration  from 
you,  favorable  to  this  great  object,  will  be  of  great  ser- 
vice to  the  cause,  at  a  moment  so  critical  of  its  destiny  : 
and  should  you  recognise  my  right  to  inquire,  and  your 
duty  to  answer,  I  shall  be  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  a 
letter  setting  forth  your  opinions."  *  *  * 

"  Pardon  me  for  suggesting  that  should  your  opinions 
be  favorable  to  annexation,  the  weight  and  influence  of 
those  opinions  would  be  doubly  enhanced,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  all  true  friends  of  the  measure,  by  the  earliest 
possible  public  avowal  of  them  before  the  country." 

Mr.  Van  Buren,  on  the  20th  of  April,  answered  this 
letter  by  declaring  himself  opposed  to  annexation.  He 
did  not,  in  his  very  lengthy  and  able  letter,  refer  to  the 
slave  question,  but  placed  his  opposition  on  the  ground, 
that  the  United  States  and  the  republic  of  Mexico  were 
at  peace  ;  that  Mexico  claimed  jurisdiction  over  Texas  ; 
that  the  former  was  then  prosecuting  a  war  against  the 
latter  in  support  of  that  claim  ;  that  annexation  at  that 
time,  if  not  an  act  of  war  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  would  provoke  a  declaration  of  war  by  Mexico : 
and  that  no  principle  in  the  code  of  the  laws  of  nations 
would  justify  the  measure.*  This  reply  roused  to  ener- 

*  Mr.  Croswell,  in  the  same  paper  in  which  he  published  Mr.  Vau  Bu- 
ren's letter,  remarks  that  "  it  is  a  statesman-like  production,  marked  by 
that  far-reaching  sagacity  and  comprehensive  judgment  so  eminently 
characteristic  of  Mr.  Vau  Buren's  state  papers.  *  *  *  Every  Ameri- 
can reader,  not  entirely  under  the  dominion  of  prejudice,  will  admit  the 
force  of  his  conclusions"  In  one  "  little  month"  Mr.  Croewell  arrived 
at  a  very  different  "  conclusion"  from  that  of  Mr.  Van  Buren. 


442  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

getic  action,  in  opposition  to  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  the  politicians  of  the  slaveholding  states. 

We  have  before  alluded  to  the  zeal,  and  vigor,  and 
unanimity  with  which  the  South  always  act  on  all  ques- 
tions in  which  that  section  of  the  Union  is  more  imme- 
diately interested;  but  no  question  ever  produces  more 
excitement  and  union  of  action  than  that  which  regards 
slavery.  Thus,  while  the  institution  of  slavery  occa- 
sions physical  weakness  in  states  where  it  exists,  in  the 
political  relation  which  those  states  bear  to  the  Union,  it 
produces  political  strength.  It  constitutes  a  common 
bond  of  union,  of  which  the  free  states  are  destitute. 
Hence  it  is  much  more  easy  to  create  divisions  among 
the  people  of  the  North  than  of  the  South,  both  in  re- 
spect of  men  and  measures.  A  minor  section  of  either 
of  the  parties  at  the  North,  joining  a  solid  phalanx  of 
men  nominally  of  the  same  party,  of  the  South,  transfers 
from  the  majority  of  the  North  the  control  of  the  party 
to  the  southern  members  of  it,  who,  notwithstanding,  are 
themselves  really  a  minority  of  the  national  party.  The 
"  Doughfaces"  of  the  North,  has  become  a  phrase  per- 
fectly understood  in  every  part  of  this  country.  In  jus- 
tice to  the  whigs  it  ought  to  be  mentioned,  that  there  are 
many  more  democrats  than  whigs  who  have  received, 
and  justly  merited,  that  opprobrious  name,  first  invented 
by  the  sarcastic  John  Randolph. 

Mr.  Buchanan,  the  present  secretary  of  state,  and  Mr. 
Calhoun,  then  secretary  of  state,  had  each  been  named 
by  their  respective  friends  as  suitable  candidates  for  the 
presidency,  but  both  of  them,  in  the  early  part  of  the  win- 
ter, publicly  declined  a  competition.  Mr.  Cass,  of  Michi- 
gan, had  also  been  mentioned  in  connection  with  that 
high  station  ;  and  the  number  of  democratic  candidates 


1844.]  BALTIMORE  CONVENTION.  443 

was  now  apparently  reduced  to  two — Mr.  Van  Buren 
and  Mr.  Cass.  The  latter,  after  the  publication  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren's  letter,  declared  himself  to  be  in  favor  of 
the  annexation  of  Texas.  Measures  were  soon  taken  to 
produce  an  impression  among  the  young  and  aspiring 
politicians  of  the  North  and  West,  that  as  after  the  elec- 
tion of  Gen.  Harrison  many  of  the  officers  appointed  by 
Mr.  Van  Buren  were  dismissed  from  office,  if  he  should 
be  re-elected,  it  would  be  a  mere  restoration  to  power  of 
the  old  dynasty  of  office-holders,  without  due  regard  to 
the  changes  in  society  which  eight  years  had  produced. 
Letters  from  Washington  to  the  friends  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  received  soon  after  the  publication  of  his  letter 
to  Mr.  Hammit,  gave  information  that  very  active  ef- 
forts were  being  made  to  defeat  his  nomination,  which 
produced  alarm,  not  only  here,  but  in  other  states. 
When  these  reports  reached  Ohio,  a  number  of  the  most 
respectable  citizens  of  that  state  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
Ohio  delegation  in  congress,  insisting  upon  the  support 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren  ;  and  the  reaction  in  the  democratic 
party  appeared  so  great,  that  for  a  week  or  two  before 
the  convention  were  to  meet,  the  agitators,  who  were 
still  determined  that  he  should  not  be  the  candidate, 
found  it  necessary,  with  a  view,  no  doubt,  to  deaden  the 
activity  of  his  friends,  to  affect  that  opposition  to  Van 
Buren  was  in  a  great  measure  abandoned ;  and  by  this 
means  an  apparent  calm  at  the  capital  was  produced. 
How  real  this  was,  the  action  of  the  convention  will 
show.  But  nevertheless,  so  well  did  the  managers  in 
the  plot  of  this  drama  or  farce  perform  their  parts,  that 
many  of  the  most  zealous  supporters  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
believed  the  opposition  to  him  was  given  up.  A  mem- 
oer  of  congress,  whom  the  cautious  editor  of  the  Albany 


444  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1844. 

Argus  certified  was  a  man  of  "  clear  views  and  extend- 
ed information,"  in  a  letter  to  that  editor,  dated  at  Wash- 
ington, the  18th  day  of  May,  only  nine  days  before  the 
meeting  of  the  convention,  expresses  his  conviction  that 
public  opinion  is  settling  down  with  great  unanimity  in 
favor  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  "  Even  the  exciting  question 
ot  the  annexation  of  Texas,"  says  the  writer,  "  which  by 
hands  at  least  incautious,  if  not  unfriendly,  was  thrown 
into  our  camp  on  the  eve  of  the  most  important  consul- 
tation to  be  held  by  the  democratic  party,  is  beginning 
to  contribute  to  the  advancement  of  our  cause.  Many 
of  the  strongest  advocates  of  annexation,  upon  reflec- 
tion, have  come  to  regard  the  grounds  taken  by  Mr. 
Van  Buren  in  his  able  letter  on  that  subject,  as  the  only 
policy  consistent  with  not  only  the  honor,  but  the  true 
interests  of  the  country.  Such  is  fast  becoming,  and 
will  soon  be,  the  opinion  of  the  whole  South." 

But  during  this  apparent  calm,  the  plot  must  have 
been  maturing  which  eventually  deprived  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
ren of  the  nomination. 

When  Gen.  Jackson,  in  1832,  was  nominated  for  re- 
election at  Baltimore,  and  when  it  was  known  there  was 
not  a  single  delegate  in  attendance  who  was  not  in  fa- 
vor of  his  nomination,  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  to 
the  nation  the  perfect  unanimity  prevalent  on  that  occa- 
sion, the  convention  adopted  a  rule  that  the  votes  of 
two-thirds  of  all  the  delegates  present  should  be  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  make  a  valid  nomination.  The  same 
rule,  under  circumstances  nearly  if  not  quite  similar,  and 
for  the  same  reasons,  (for  there  was  in  reality  no  candi- 
date in  the  field  against  Mr.  Van  Buren,)  was  continued 
at  the  convention  of  1836,  when  Mr.  Van  Buren  was 
nominated. 


1844.]  THE  TWO-THIRD  RULE.  445 

It  is  impossible  to  believe  that  any  body  of  sober- 
minded  men  could  have  adopted  this  rule  with  the  inten- 
tion that  it  should  be  applied  in  a  case  where  there  was 
a  real  difference  of  opinion  among  the  members  of  a 
nominating  convention,  and  where  they  were  nearly 
equally  divided  in  relation  to  the  selection  of  a  candi- 
date. 

A  nominating  caucus  is,  or  ought  to  be,  composed  of 
delegates  representing  a  political  party,  the  members  of 
which  agree  as  respects  principles  and  measures,  and 
who,  through  their  delegates,  meet  together  for  the  pur- 
pose of  ascertaining  who  the  majority  of  the  party  de- 
sire to  select  as  agents  to  carry  into  effect  those  prin- 
ciples and  measures.  Now  the  two-third  rule  is  calculated 
to  defeat  this  great  and  only  object  of  caucusing,  for  it 
vests  in  the  minority  the  power  of  controlling  the  majori- 
ty. A  convention  consists  of  300  members.  It  assembles 
for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  who  the  majority  of  the 
party  desire  should  be  their  candidate  for  governor.  One 
hundred  and  ninety-nine  of  the  members  wish  to  put  A.  in 
nomination,  and  101  of  the  same  body  are  in  favor  of  B. 
The  two-third  rule  enables  101  members  to  say  to  the 
199  members,  you  shall  nominate  B.  or  there  shall  be  no 
nomination.  A  more  effectual  means  of  encouraging 
faction  in  a  party  could  not  be  devised. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  several  of  the  democratic 
members  of  congress  from  the  state  of  New  York  were 
cold  towards  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  believ- 
ing, or  affecting  to  believe,  that  he  was  not  the  most 
available  candidate.  If  such  was  the  fact,  we  do  not 
know  who  those  persons  were,  nor  to  which  section  of  the 
party  they  belonged  ;  but  it  is  not  improbable  that  some 
of  the  democratic  members  from  this  state,  either  open- 


446  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

ly  or  secretly,  favored  the  views  of  the  southern  party  ; 
for  when  has  there  been  a  time  since  the  discussion  of 
the  famous  Missouri  question,  that  a  portion  of  the  New 
York  members  did  not  come  in  aid  of  the  South  on  any 
question  between  northern  and  southern  democrats  ? 

The  delegates  to  the  Baltimore  Convention  from  the 
state  of  New  York  were  composed  indiscriminately  of 
radicals  and  hunkers.  Samuel  Young,  Benjamin  F. 
Butler,  C.  C.  Cambreleng,  Robert  Campbell,  jr.,  Alonzo 
C.  Paige,  Albert  Lester,  and  John  Fine,  radicals,  and 
Daniel  S.  Dickinson,  Erastus  Corning,  Job  Pierson,  John 
Stryker,  Thomas  B.  Mitchell,  and  John  C.  Wright, 
hunkers,  were  on  the  delegation.  Although  the  dele- 
gates from  this  state  may  have  differed  in  opinion  about 
the  time  when  Mr.  Van  Buren's  name  should  be  with- 
drawn from  the  competition  for  the  nomination,  as  will 
hereafter  be  seen,  we  have  never  heard,  nor  do  we  be- 
lieve that  any  of  them  acted,  either  openly  or  covertly, 
in  bad  faith. 

A  highly  intelligent  and  candid  member  of  the  New 
York  delegation  has,  at  the  request  of  the  author,  favored 
him  with  a  communication  containing  the  reminiscences 
of  the  writer  of  the  proceedings  of  his  colleagues,  and 
of  what  occurred  in  the  convention.  We  shall  give  the 
substance  of  that  communication  in  his  own  words, 
though  we  regret  to  say  that  we  are  not  permitted  to 
furnish  the  reader  with  the  name  of  our  correspondent. 

After  alluding  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Van  Buren,  as 
early  as  the  year  1842,  had  received  notice  that  he  had 
been  nominated  for  the  next  presidency  by  the  demo- 
cratic members  of  the  legislature  of  the  state  of  Mis- 
souri, and  to  the  answer  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  addressed 
to  those  members,  in  which  he  expressed  his  unalterable 


1844.]  THE  TWO-THIRD  RULE.  447 

determination  not  to  be  again  a  candidate  ;  and  also  to 
the  proceedings  of  the  democratic  party  in  the  south- 
western states,  denying  the  right  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  to 
decline  being  a  candidate,  and  insisting  that  he  had  be- 
come so  identified  with  the  leading  measures  advocated 
by  the  democratic  party,  that  a  political  victory  of  that 
party  could  not  be  achieved  in  1844  without  inscribing 
his  name  on  their  banner ;  and  also,  after  stating  what 
we  have  already  mentioned,  that  a  majority  of  the  dele- 
gates elected  to  the  Baltimore  Convention  had  been  in- 
structed to  support  Mr.  Van  Buren,  our  correspondent 
says: 

"  The  New  York  delegation  held  a  meeting  in  the 
city  of  New  York  when  on  their  way  to  Baltimore.  At 
this  meeting  Mr.  Butler,  and  other  members  of  the  del- 
egation, expressed  fears  that  the  two-third  rule  would  be 
adopted  by  the  convention.  After  arriving  at  Balti- 
more, we  held  several  meetings  for  private  consultation. 
Judge  Fine,  who  was  then  a  member  of  congress,  stated 
at  one  of  those  meetings,  that  for  several  weeks  then 
past,  most  of  the  friends  of  annexation  in  congress 
had  been  engaged  in  various  devices  to  impress  upon 
the  members  of  the  convention  that  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
popularity  was  on  the  wane, — that  the  friends  of  Gen. 
Cass,  Senator  Buchanan,  and  Judge  Woodbury,  were 
acting  in  concert  with  the  southern  delegates,  and  would 
so  vote  in  convention  ;  that  is  to  say,  they  would  vote 
for  'the  two-third  rule,'  which  would  as  effectually  de- 
feat Mr.  Van  Buren's  nomination  as  if  they  openly  vio- 
lated their  instructions  by  a  direct  vote  against  him. 

"Judge  Fine,  Mr.  Butler,  and  other  members  of  the 
New  York  delegation,  reposed  great  confidence  in  the 
opinions  and  statements  of  Mr.  C;>ve  Johnson,  of  Ten 


448  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

uessee.  He  frequently  met  with  our  delegation,  and 
expressed  himself  in  the  strongest  terms  of  personal  and 
political  friendship  towards  Mr.  Van  Bureri  and  Mr. 
Wright.  He  said  he  regretted  that  the  democratic  con- 
vention in  Tennessee  had  not  named  Mr.  V.  B.  as  the 
candidate.  So  strong  was  the  confidence  of  the  New 
York  delegation  in  Mr.  Johnson  as  the  friend  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  that  he  was  apprized  of  all  our  plans  in  re- 
gard to  the  organization  of  the  convention,  and  was  re- 
quested to  nominate  Gov.  Hubhard,  of  New  Hampshire, 
as  temporary  chairman.  But  when  the  convention  as- 
sembled," [on  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  May,]  "  fifteen 
minutes  before  the  time  fixed  for  commencing  proceed- 
ings, Gen.  Saunders,  of  North  Carolina,  called  the  con- 
vention to  order,  and  nominated  Hendrick  B.  Wright,  of 
Pennsylvania,  a  friend  of  Mr.  Buchanan,  as  temporary 
president." 

Among  the  most  distinguished  members  of  the  con- 
vention from  states  other  than  the  state  of  New  York, 
were  Gov.  Hubbard,  of  New  Hampshire;  George  Ban- 
croft, Gov.  Morton,  and  Mr.  Rantoul,  of  Massachusetts; 
Isaac  Toucey,  of  Connecticut ;  George  A.  Vroom,  of 
New  Jersey ;  George  C.  Dromgoole,  of  Virginia ;  H. 
B.  Wright,  of  Pennsylvania ;  Gen.  Saunders,  of  North 
Carolina;  R.  J.  Walker,  of  Mississippi ;  Samuel  Ewing, 
of  Ohio ;  J.  W.  Tibbatts,  of  Kentucky ;  and  Senator 
Hannegan,  of  Indiana.  Mr.  Walker,  Gen.  Saunders, 
and  Mr.  Cave  Johnson  were  the  principal  managers  for 
the  delegates  from  the  southern  section  of  the  Union. 

Before  the  convention  was  regularly  organized,  Gen. 
Saunders  moved  that  the  rules  and  regulations  adopted 
by  the  national  conventions  of  1832  and  1836  should  be 
adopted  as  the  rules  of  that  convention.  After  some 


1844.]  THE    TWO-THIRD    RULE.  449 

conversation  Gen.  S.  withdrew  his  resolution,  and  the 
assembly  proceeded  to  ascertain  who  were  entitled  to 
seats.  There  were  336  delegates  in  attendance,  several 
of  the  states  having  elected  a  greater  number  of  dele- 
gates than  the  number  of  electoral  votes  to  which  they 
were  entitled.*  It  was  finally  agreed  that  all  the  dele- 
gates chosen  should  be  considered  members  of  the  con- 
vention ;  but  that  in  voting  each  state  should  be  entitled 
to  give  votes  equal  to  its  number  of  electors  in  the  elec- 
toral college,  and  no  more.  After  this  decision  was 
made,  "  it  was  understood,"  says  our  correspondent, 
"  that  the  delegates  from  Virginia,  Illinois,  and  several 
other  states,  among  whom  there  was  a  difference  of  opin- 
ion with  respect  to  the  propriety  of  adopting  the  two- 
third  rule,  agreed,  in  order  that  the  states  from  which 
such  delegates  came  should  have  their  full  and  legit- 
imate influence  and  weight  in  the  convention,  that 
the  minorities  should  yield  to  the  majorities,  (not  the 
majorities  to  the  minorities,  according  to  the  principle  of 
the  two-third  rule,)  and  cast  the  whole  vote  of  the  state 
according  to  the  wishes  of  the  majority."  Thus,  sup- 
pose there  were  25  delegates  from  Virginia,  13  of  whom 
were  for  the  t  vo-third  rule,  and  12  against  it,  the  state 
of  Virginia  gave  25  votes  for  the  rule.  The  friends  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren  complained  that  the  adoption  of  this 
practice  operated  against  their  candidate. 

After  these  preliminary  matters  were  settled,  General 
Saunders  renewed  his  motion  for  the  adoption  of  the 
rules  of  1832  and  1836.  This  occasioned  a  long  and 
highly  inflammatory  debate.  The  only  question  in  issue 
was  that  in  relation  to  the  two-third  rule. 


*  There  were  53  delegates  iu  attendance  from  Virginia. 
29 


450  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

Mr.  Butler  concluded  an  argumentative  and  eloquent 
speech  against  the  rule  in  the  following  words : 

"  I  ask,  Mr.  President,  of  the  calm  and  deliberate 
judgment  of  the  convention,  whether  they  will  adopt  a 
rule  not  only  unsound  and  false  in  principle,  but  which, 
if  adhered  to,  will,  beyond  all  peradventure,  end  either 
in  preventing  any  nomination  whatever,  or  else  in  coer- 
cing the  majority  to  yield  to  a  minority.  Adopt  this 
rule,  and  what  are  the  majority  to  do  ?  Either  they 
must  surrender  their  preference — abandon  their  first 
choice,  the  man,  perhaps,  whom  they  were  instructed 
to  support — or  else  the  convention  must  break  up,  and 
all  that  we  came  here  to  do,  be  left  undone.  In  the  lat- 
ter case,  the  convention,  by  its  own  act,  becomes  a  nul- 
lity— a/e/o  de  se.  It  cuts  its  own  throat — applies  the 
pistol  to  its  brain,  the  dagger  to  its  heart.  Is  this  the 
way  to  carry  out  the  purpose  that  brought  us  here  ?  We 
were  sent  here  to  do  something.  Our  mission  is  not 
that  of  a  legislative  body.  They  need  not  act  at  all. 
We  have  no  such  discretion.  We  are  sent  here  to  act 
— to  make  a  nomination.  And  I  submit  that  to  adopt  a 
rule  which  requires  what  we  know  cannot  be  done — 
unless  the  majority  yield  to  the  minority — is  to  subject 
ourselves  to  the  rule,  not  of  reason,  but  of  despotism, 
and  to  defeat  the  true  purposes  and  objects  of  the  con- 
vention— the  accomplishment  of  the  people's  will  for  the 
promotion  of  the  people's  good." 

Mr.  Walker  replied  to  Mr.  Butler  with  some  as- 
perity. If  the  sketch  of  Mr.  Walker's  speech  which 
has  been  published,  is  correct,  it  was  at  least  singu- 
lar, if  he  meant,  it  should  be  considered  and  received 
as  an  argument  proper  to  be  addressed  to  men  of 
common  candor  and  common  sense.  As  a  specimen 


1844.]  THE  TWO-THIRD  RULE.  451 

of  it,  we  copy  the  following  paragraph  from  the  Albany 
Argus : 

"  Mr.  Walker,  of  Mississippi,  regarded  the  question 
as  fully  presented  by  the  resolution  of  Mr.  Saunders, 
and  went  on  to  argue  in  favor  of  the  two-third  rule — 
having  prevailed  ever  since  the  convention  system  ex- 
isted, whenever  there  had  been  a  divided  sentiment  as 
to  candidates,  or  whenever  there  was  any  state  of  things 
to  which  such  a  rule  could  apply ;  and  insinuating  that 
the  settled  rule  was  now  sought  to  be  changed,  not  to 
benefit  the  democratic  party,  but  to  affect  favorably  an 
individual  of  that  party — to  elevate  men  above  meas- 
ures. He  argued  also  in  favor  of  the  rule  in  the  ab- 
stract, as  necessary  and  right  in  order  to  secure  for  the 
nominee  the  vote  of  a  majority  of  the  democratic  party, 
and  that  to  reverse  it,  would  be  to  give  to  a  minority  of 
the  democratic  party  the  power  to  dictate  to  the  majority 
who  should  be  the  candidate." 

So  far  from  its  being  true  that  "  the  two-third  rule 
had  prevailed  whenever  there  had  been  a  divided  senti- 
ment as  to  the  candidate,"  such  a  case  had  not,  as  we 
have  seen,  occurred  since  it  was  introduced  in  1832,  and 
of  course  it  had  never  been  so  applied.  Mr.  Monroe,  in 
1816,  was  nominated  in  a  congressional  caucus  against 
Mr.  Crawford  by  a  majority  of  nine  votes  only.*  Mr. 
Walker's  proposition,  that  to  abolish  the  two-third  rule, 
and  allow  a  majority  vote  to  control,  "  would  be  to  give 
a  minority  of  the  democratic  party  the  power  to  dictate 
to  the  majority  who  should  be  the  candidate,"  is  so  pal- 
pably absurd  that  it  would  be  offensive  if  urged  by  any 
man  of  common  sense  to  an  intelligent  audience.  We 
therefore  seriously  doubt  whether  Mr.  W.  can  have  been 

*  The  author  was  a  member  of  that  caucus. 


452  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NKW   YORK.  [1844. 

correctly  reported.  On  calling  the  ayes  and  noes  the 
two-third  rule  was  sustained  by  the  following  vote : 

Ayes — Massachusetts  5,  Vermont  3,  Rhode  Island  2, 
Connecticut  3,  New  Jersey  7,  Pennsylvania  12,  Dela- 
ware 3,  Maryland  6,  Virginia  17,  North  Carolina  5, 
Georgia  10,  Alabama  9,  Mississippi  6,  Louisiana  6,  Ten- 
nessee 13,  Kentucky  12,  Indiana  12,  Illinois  9,  Michigan 
5,  Arkansas  3 — 148. 

Noes — Maine  9,  New  Hampshire  6,  Massachusetts  7, 
Vermont  3,  Rhode  Island  2,  Connecticut  3,  New  York 
36,  Pennsylvania  13,  Maryland  2,  North  Carolina  5, 
Ohio  23,  Missouri  7 — 116.  Absent — one  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  one  from  North  Carolina. 

On  this  proceeding  a  correspondent  of  one  of  the  Al- 
bany journals  remarks  : 

"  The  opponents  of  the  two-third  vote  lose  much  by 
some  states  casting  a  divided  vote,  where  the  ma- 
jority of  the  delegation  were  against  the  rule — as  in 
Massachusetts  and  Pennsylvania — and  by  other  states 
casting  their  entire  vote  for  the  rule,  where  there  was 
a  division  of  sentiment — as  in  New  Jersey,  Alabama, 
Indiana,  and  Virginia.  Virginia  was  the  last  to  vote,  the 
delegation  being  permitted  to  retire  to  consult,  and  not 
coming  in  until  all  the  rest  of  the  states  had  voted.  Her 
vote  was  of  course  decisive,  and  such  a  scene  of  uproar, 
excitement,  and  confusion  could  scarcely  have  been 
equalled  even  in  the  house  of  representatives.  The 
proposition  on  which  the  convention  voted  was  General 
.  Saunders'  proposition  moved  as  a  substitute  for  Mr. 
Jewett's — the  latter  proposing  a  committee  of  twenty- 
six  to  report  rules,  and  the  former  moving  his  substitute, 
adopting  the  rules  in  force  in  1832  and  1836,  the  two- 
third  rule  among  the  rest.  The  speakers  who  took  part  in 


1844.]  THE  TWO-THIRD  RULE.  453 

the  debate  were  Messrs.  Tibbatts  of  Kentucky,  Morton 
and  Rantoul  of  Massachusetts,  Walker  of  Mississippi, 
Dickinson  and  Butler  of  New  York,  Medary  of  Ohio, 
Jewett  of  Maine,  Colquitt  of  Georgia,  Hubbard  of  New 
Hampshire,  Toucey  of  Connecticut,  and  Saunders  of 
North  Carolina." 

The  delegates  from  the  following  states  were  either 
instructed  by  the  respective  conventions  who  elected 
them  to  vote  for  Martin  Van  Buren,  or- those  conven- 
tions actually  nominated  him  for  president, — Pennsyl- 
vania, Ohio,  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  Louisiana,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  Arkansas,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  New  York, 
— and  yet  there  were  sixty-three  votes  given  from  those 
states  in  favor  of  the  two-third  rule. 

Every  man  in  that  convention  knew  that  a  majority 
would  vote  (as  they  shortly  after  did)  for  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
ren. They  knew  also  that  if  the  two-third  rule  prevailed 
Van  Buren  could  not  be  nominated.  A  vote  therefore 
for  the  two-third  rule  was  a  vote  against  Mr.  Van  Bu- 
ren. So  self-evident  is  this  proposition,  that  to  charge 
any  member  of  the  convention  with  not  knowing  that 
this  would  be  the  effect  of  such  a  vote,  would  be  to 
charge  him  with  idiocy.  Mr.  Brewster  nevertheless  said 
that  no  delegate  from  Pennsylvania  "  dare"  return  home 
without  voting  for  Martin  Van  Buren,  so  long  as  his  name 
was  before  the  convention  ;  and  yet  twelve  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania delegation,  of  whom  Mr.  Brewster  we  presume 
was  one,  voted  for  the  two-third  rule.  Mr.  Buchanan 
was  opposed  to  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  ;  what 
his  motives  for  that  opposition  were,  we  do  not  choose 
to  inquire,  and  although  the  Pennsylvania  delegation  did 
vote  for  Van  Buren,  it  is  well  known  that  from  regard 


454  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

to  Mr.  Buchanan,  or  some  other  cause,  they  did  not  de- 
sire that  the  person  for  whom  they  voted  should  be  the 
nominee.  Some  of  the  delegates  from  Massachusetts 
and  other  states  undoubtedly  voted  with  feelings  similar 
to  those  of  the  Pennsylvania  delegates.  To  justify  their 
conduct  in  the  view  of  conscientious  men  requires  a  spe- 
cies of  casuistry  which  we  do  not  understand. 

The  convention  then  proceeded  to  ballot  for  a  presi- 
dential candidate  seven  times,  with  the  following  re- 
sults : 

Bu-       Wood-      Cal- 
Van  Buren.      Cass.        Johnson,    chanan.     bury.      noun.  Stewart. 

1st  ballot,  146  83  24  4261 

2d  "  127  94  33  9011 

3d  "  121  92  38  11           2           2           0 

4th  "  111  105  32  17           0           1           0 

6th  "  103  107  29  26           0           1           0 

6th  "  101  116  23  25           0           0           0 

7th  "  99  123  21  22           0           1           0 

The  votes  given  for  Mr.  Buchanan  must  be  regarded 
as  blank  ballots,  for  he  had  declared  himself  hors  du 
combat.  After  these  several  ballotings,  the  convention 
adjourned  until  the  next  morning. 

Before  the  adjournment,  and  during  the  intervals  of 
the  ballotings,  much  conversation  took  place  between 
the  delegates  from  New  York  and  the  delegates  opposed 
to  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  various  sug- 
gestions were  made  on  both  sides.  After  the  adjourn- 
ment these  conversations,  or  attempts  at  negotiation, 
were  repeated. 

"  The  delegates  from  Ohio  and  other  states,  amount- 
ing to  more  than  one-third  of  the  convention,  who  were 
friendly  to  Mr.  Van  Buren's  nomination,"  says  our  cor- 
respondent, from  whom  we  again  quote,  "  informed 


1844.]      ACTION  OF  THE  N.  YORK  DELEGATION.      455 

the  New  York  delegation  that  they  would  continue  to 
support  Mr.  Van  Buren  as  long  as  he  should  remain  a 
candidate  ;  and  if  his  name  should  be  withdrawn,  they 
would  act  in  concert  with  the  friends  of  Mr.  V.  B." 
[This  generous  overture,  it  will  be  perceived,  under  the 
operation  of  the  two-third  rule,  put  it  in  the  power  of 
the  New  York  delegation  to  make  such  nomination  as 
they  preferred,  or  to  prevent  the  making  of  any  nomina- 
tion.] "  On  Tuesday  evening,"  continues  our  corre- 
spondent, "  some  of  our  delegation  had  another  interview 
with  Mr.  Cave  Johnson,  who  gave  them  assurances  that 
Col.  Polk"  [who  it  seems  had  received  a  few  votes  on 
the  eighth  ballot]  "  was  a  warm  friend  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
and  Mr.  Wright." 

Before  Mr.  Butler  left  New  York,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
addressed  to  him  a  letter,  in  which,  in  anticipation  that 
dissensions  might  arise  in  the  convention,  Mr.  V.  B.  au- 
thorized and  instructed  Mr.  Butler  to  withdraw  his  name 
as  a  candidate  whenever  he  (Mr.  Butler)  should  become 
satisfied  that  the  use  of  it  would  not  tend  to  harmonize 
and  unite  the  convention.  In  the  same  letter  Mr.  Van 
Buren  expressed  great  solicitude  that  in  case  his  name 
should  be  withdrawn,  Mr.  Wright  should  be  nominated. 
On  Tuesday  evening  the  New  York  delegation  held  a 
consultation,  but  did  not  arrive  at  any  definite  conclu- 
sion as  to  what  should  be  their  future  course  in  the  con- 
vention. On  Wednesday  morning,  before  the  conven- 
tion proceeded  to  a  ninth  ballot,  the  delegates  from  New 
York  asked  leave  to  withdraw.  On  that  occasion,  after 
they  had  withdrawn,  Mr.  Butler  communicated  the  in- 
structions he  had  received  from  Mr.  Van  Buren.  He 
also  stated,  that  in  his  judgment  the  time  had  arrived 
when  Mr.  Van  Buren's  name  ought  to  be  withdrawn ; 


456  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

but  as  he  felt  that  in  so  doing  he  should  assume  a  high 
responsibility  to  his  friend  as  well  as  to  the  public,  and 
as  he  might  err  in  judgment,  he  could  not  venture  on  so 
important  an  act  without  the  advice  and  consent  of  his 
colleagues.  He  also  requested  the  delegation  to  advise 
him  whose  name  should  be  announced  as  the  second 
choice  of  the  democrats  of  New  York  for  president. 
Mr.  Wright  was  then  mentioned  as  the  person  most 
likely  to  obtain  the  support  of  the  convention  and  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States.  It  was  well  known 
that  his  name  had  been  previously  mentioned  by  many 
distinguished  and  influential  politicians  at  Washington 
as  a  suitable  candidate  for  the  presidency,  with  their 
cordial  approbation  ;  and  the  delegates  generally  ex- 
pressed a  decided  opinion,  that  in  case  Mr.  Van  Buren's 
name  should  be  withdrawn,  that  of  Mr.  Wright  should 
be  presented.  But  Judge  Fine  thereupon  produced  and 
read  to  his  colleagues  the  following  letter  from  Mr 
Wright: 

"WASHINGTON,  May  23,  1844. 
"  Hon.  JOHN  FINE  : 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR — As  I  know  you  intend  to  leave  the 
city  to-day  or  to-morrow,  to  attend  to  your  responsible 
duties  as  a  delegate  to  the  Baltimore  Convention  ;  and 
as  you  are  a  delegate  from  the  congressional  district  in 
which  I  reside,  and  are  as  well  my  representative  in  the 
convention,  as  my  neighbor  and  personal  friend,  I  beg 
leave  to  trouble  you  with  this  note.  You  will  doubtless 
think  and  feel  that  I  am  performing  a  work  of  superero- 
gation, as  I  do  myself;  and  yet,  in  the  present  unsettled 
state  of  the  democratic  mind  in  relation  to  the  doings  of 
the  convention,  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  omit  any  act, 


1811.]       MB.  WRIGHT'S  LETTER  TO  JUDGE  FINE.  457 

which  may  protect  me  from  being  made  the  instrument, 
however  honestly  and  innocently,  of  further  distractions. 

"  Within  the  last  few  days  several  too-partial  friends 
have  suggested  to  me  the  idea  that,  by  possibility,  in 
case  the  opposition  to  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
should  be  found  irreconcilable,  a  compromise  might  bo 
made  by  dropping  him,  and  using  my  name.  I  need  not 
say  to  you  that  a  consent,  on  my  part,  to  any  such  pro- 
ceeding, would  justly  forfeit  my  standing  with  the  de- 
mocracy of  our  state,  and  cause  my  faith  and  fidelity  to 
my  party  to  be  suspected  everywhere.  Personal  objec- 
tions are  not  made  against  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  any  quar- 
ter; and  if  his  known  political  principles  and  opinions 
are  to  set  him  aside  as  the  republican  candidate  for 
president,  the  same  objections  would  make  me  ineligible, 
so  far  as  my  principles  and  opinions  are  known  ;  and  I 
am  not  yet  prepared  to  believe  that  the  democratic  party 
of  the  Union  will  give  a  more  ardent  and  enthusiastic 
support  to  a  candidate  upon  its  ticket  for  that  high  office 
whose  principles  are  unknown  to  them,  than  to  one 
known  to  cherish,  at  every  hazard,  principles  in  precise 
accordance  with  its  own.  If  that  be  the  present  dispo- 
sition of  the  party,  or  of  its  representatives  in  the  Balti- 
more Convention,  I  cannot  consent  to  make  myself, 
humble  as  is  my  position  in  that  great  party,  the  instru- 
ment to  withdraw  such  a  canvass. 

"  The  republicans  of  New  York,  with  a  unanimity 
never  surpassed,  have  made  it  the  duty  of  yourself,  and 
your  colleagues  in  the  convention,  to  present  for  its  ac- 
ceptance the  name  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  as  their  choice 
from  among  themselves,  and  they  have  given  to  you  no 
direction  to  withdraw  his  name  and  substitute  any  other. 
If  lie  is  not  acceptable  to  the  convention,  they  have  no 


458  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

candidate  before  it,  by  any  expression  or  act  oi  theirs. 
It  is  not  the  high  office  for  a  citizen  of  the  state  which 
they  seek,  regardless  of  the  hands  in  which  it  is  to  be 
placed.  If  by  the  consent  and  concurrence  of  the  de- 
mocracy of  the  Union,  the  high  trust  can  be  reposed  in 
his  hands,  they  will  feel  that  their  principles  and  their 
country  are  safe,  and  that  their  cherished  state  is  hon- 
ored, highly,  generously  honored;  but  if  the  democracy, 
as  represented  in  the  convention,  cannot  concede  to  this 
their  expressed  wish,  they  have  no  candidate,  and  their 
delegates  are  left,  like  others,  to  make  a  selection  from 
such  other  names  as  shall  come  before  them. 

"  These  are  my  views  of  your  position  and  of  your 
duties,  and  to  consent  to  the  use  of  my  name  as  a  can- 
didate, under  any  circumstances,  would  be,  in  my  view, 
to  invite  you  to  compromise  the  expressed  wishes  and 
instructions  of  your  constituents  for  my  personal  ad- 
vancement. I  can  never  consent  to  place  myself  in  a 
position  where  the  suspicion  of  acting  from  such  a  mo- 
tive can  justly  attach  to  me ;  much  less,  to  be  a  party  to 
such  action.  I  never  can  consent  to  place  you  and  your 
colleagues  in  a  position  seeming  to  invite  misrepresent- 
ation, on  your  part,  of  those  to  whom  you  owe  your  re- 
sponsible trusts,  and  to  whom  I  owe  all  that  I  am,  and 
all  I  have,  as  a  public  man. 

"  I  know  well,  my  dear  sir,  that  I  could  not  present  a 
temptation  to  you,  or  your  respected  colleagues,  which 
would  induce  a  man  of  you  to  swerve  from  your  fidelity 
to  your  constituents,  and  your  high  duty  to  our  great 
party  and  our  common  country  ;  but  I  desire  that  you, 
as  my  immediate  representative  in  the  convention,  should 
have  in  your  possession  the  evidence  that  I  cannot  be 
made  the  instrument  of  any  embarrassment  upon  you. 


1844.]  MR.  WRIGHT'S  LETTER.  459 

"  If  it  were  proper  I  could  tell  you,  with  the  most 
perfect  truth,  that  I  have  never  been  vain  enough  to 
dream  of  the  office  of  president,  in  connection  with  my 
own  name,  and  were  not  Mr.  Van  Buren  the  candidate 
of  our  state,  I  should  find  just  as  little  difficulty  as  I  now 
do,  in  telling  you  that  I  am  not,  and  cannot,  under  any 
circumstances,  be  a  candidate  before  your  convention 
for  that  office.  It  is  wholly  unnecessary,  however,  to 
speak  of  a  state  of  things  which  does  not  exist,  and  you 
will  therefore  be  pleased  to  apply  this  remark  to  that 
which  does. 

"  I  do  not  anticipate  any  occurrence  which  will  call 
upon  you  to  use  this  letter,  and  I  certainly  do  not  wish 
to  have  it  used  in  any  other  contingency,  because  I 
should  regret  very  much  to  seem  to  assume  that  I  have 
been,  am,  or  may  be,  a  candidate  by  my  own  agency. 
Still,  it  is  submitted  to  your  discretion,  to  be  used  in 
case  any  effort  shall  be  made,  during  the  sitting  of  the 
convention,  to  connect  my  name  with  the  office,  in  a 
manner  which  shall  appear  to  you  to  call  for  this  uncon- 
ditional interdict  from  me. 

"  In  great  haste,  I  am  most  truly  yours, 

"  SILAS  WRIGHT." 

The  delicacy  of  feeling  of  the  writer  towards  his  old 
and  valued  friend,  the  high  sense  of  honor,  the  ardent 
devotion  to  the  success  and  prosperity  of  the  political 
party  to  which  he  belonged,  and  the  exalted  patriotism 
which  breathes  through  every  line  of  this  letter,  must 
commend  it  to  the  heart  of  every  reader. 

After  Mr.  Wright's  letter  had  been  read,  and  after 
Judge  Fine,  against  the  remonstrances  of  some  of  the 
delegates,  had  declared  his  unalterable  determination. 


460  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [184-1. 

that  in  case  the  name  of  Mr.  Wright  should  be  proposed 
as  a  candidate  in  the  convention,  he  would  communi- 
cate his  written  refusal  to  that  assembly,  "  considerable 
conversation,"  says  our  correspondent,  "  was  had  in  the 
consultation  held  by  the  delegates  on  the  subject  of  the 
name  to  be  presented.  Col.  Young,  Senator  Lester,  and 
several  others,  remarked  that  Mr.  Van  Buren  was  their 
first  and  only  choice,  and  the  delegation  were  very  much 
divided  in  opinion  as  to  whom  they  would  support,  when 
Mr.  Van  Buren's  name  should  be  withdrawn.  Mr.  But- 
ler thereupon  requested  permission  of  our  delegation  to 
state  when  he  should  withdraw  Mr.  Van  Buren's  name, 
whom  he  [Mr.  B.]  preferred  next  to  Mr.  V.  B.  for  a  pres- 
idential candidate,  to  which  there  did  not  seem  to  be 
any  objection.  Our  delegation  then  returned  to  the 
convention.  They  were  then  balloting  for  a  candi- 
date." 

After  Mr.  Roan,  of  Virginia,  on  casting  the  vote  of 
that  state  for  Mr.  Polk,  had  briefly  addressed  the  con- 
vention, and  in  the  course  of  his  remarks  had  handsome- 
ly complimented  the  state  of  New  York  and  its  delega- 
tion, the  vote  of  New  York  being  called  for,  Mr.  Butler, 
on  behalf  of  the  New  York  delegation,  rose  to  respond  to 
the  remarks  of  Mr.  Roan,  as  well  as  to  inform  the  conven- 
tion of  the  result  of  the  deliberations  of  the  delegation 
during  their  absence.  He  said  the  democracy  of  New 
York,  notwithstanding  the  unhappy  differences  that 
within  a  few  weeks  past  had  existed  between  them  and 
their  brethren  of  Virginia,  had  never  supposed  that,  they 
were  to  be  separated  for  any  length  of  time.  "  New 
York,"  said  Mr.  Butler,  "  has  never  doubted  that  in  the 
end  Virginia  and  New  York  would  be  found  battling 
side  by  side  in  the  cause  of  the  constitution  and  tho 


1844.]  MR.  BUTLER'S  SPEECH.  461 

country."  Mr.  Butler  then  stated  to  the  convention  that 
the  New  York  delegation,  during  their  recess,  had  con- 
sulted on  a  question  of  the  deepest  interest  to  every 
member  of  it.  "  It  was,"  said  he,  "  no  less  a  question 
than  this,  whether  they  had  fully  discharged  the  duty 
imposed  on  them  by  the  instructions  of  their  constitu- 
ents ;  whether  they  had  faithfully  redeemed  their  pledges 
to  obey  those  instructions ;  and  whether,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances in  which  they  were  placed,  they  were  re- 
quired, by  that  spirit  of  concession,  of  harmony,  and  of 
patriotic  devotion  to  the  union  of  the  party,  which  should 
animate  every  democrat,  even  when  acting  in  a  repre- 
sentative capacity,  to  withdraw  the  name  of  the  candi- 
date of  their  choice  not  less  than  of  their  state,  from 
before  the  convention.  It  was  impossible  for  the  dele- 
gation of  New  York  to  enter  on  the  consideration  of 
these  questions,  without  the  deepest  emotion  and  solici- 
tude. And  I  need  not  tell  you,  sir,  that  to  no  one  of  our 
number  did  they  address  themselves  with  more  intense 
force,  awakening  every  sentiment  of  honorable  friend- 
ship, of  public  and  of  private  obligation,  and  stirring  up 
the  very  depths  of  his  inmost  soul,  than  to  myself.  Mr. 
B.  then  proceeded  to  speak  of  the  relations  existing  be- 
tween Mr.  Van  Buren  and  himself,  in  a  strain  of  warm 
and  unaffected  feeling,  which  deeply  impressed  the  con- 
vention. Indebted  to  him  for  the  means  of  acquiring 
the  profession  through  which  he  had  attained  to  what- 
ever of  public  consideration  he  enjoyed ;  for  years  a 
member  of  his  family :  his  partner  in  professional,  his 
friend,  supporter,  and  associate  in  political  and  public 
life ;  the  ties  by  which  he  was  bound  to  the  distin- 
guished citizen  of  New  York,  whose  name  had  been 
so  honorably  presented  to  the  nation  for  the  first  office 


462  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

in  its  gift,  were  almost  as  strong,  as  sacred,  and  as  ten- 
der, as  those  which  bind  a  son  to  a  father." 

"  As  regards  Mr.  Van  Buren  himself,"  says  Mr.  B., 
"  I  could  entertain  no  doubt  as  to  the  propriety  of  the 
step  ;  for  I  have  in  my  possession  a  letter  from  that  gen- 
tleman, the  existence  of  which,  until  this  morning,  I 
have  kept  a  secret  from  all  my  colleagues,  under  which 
I  feel  myself  fully  authorized  to  withdraw  his  name 
whenever  it  shall  be  found  necessary  to  do  so  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  and  secure  the  harmony  of  the  great 
democratic  party  of  the  Union." 

"  Mr.  Butler,"  says  the  reporter,  "  was  here  interrupt- 
ed by  a  general  and  deafening  burst  of  applause,  the  en- 
tire convention  rising,  and  waving  hands  and  handker- 
chiefs for  some  moments."  *  *  *  *  "Having  this 
authority,"  continued  Mr.  B.,  "  I  took  occasion,  during 
our  recess,  to  say  to  my  colleagues — and  the  circum- 
stances in  which  I  stood  seemed  to  impose  on  me  the 
lead  in  this  matter — that,  in  the  present  state  of  the  can- 
vass, and  with  the  information  I  had  received  as  to  its 
probable  results,  I  should  think  it  due  to  the  honor  of  my 
friend,  to  the  harmony  of  our  common  democracy,  and 
to  the  interests  of  the  people  of  New  York  and  of  the 
Union — to  withdraw  his  name,  unless  they  advised  to 
the  contrary.  But  my  colleagues  would  not  throw  this 
weight  of  responsibility  on  me.  They  passed  a  resolu- 
tion authorizing  me  to  withdraw  the  name  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  if  I  should  deem  it  expedient,  after  consulting  our 
friends  from  other  states.  On  returning  to  this  hall,  we 
learned  that  some  of  them,  anticipating  our  decision,  had 
already  cast  their  votes  for  another  candidate,  and  on 
consulting  with  the  others,  no  doubt  is  left  as  to  the 
course  to  be  pursued.  While,  therefore,  I  return,  in  the 


1844.]  BALTIMORE  CONVENTION  OF  1844.  463 

name  of  the  democracy  of  New  York,  to  those  who 
have  sustained  by  their  votes  in  this  place  the  candidate 
of  our  state,  our  most  unfeigned  and  hearty  thanks,  I  do 
now,  in  the  name  of  the  delegation  of  New  York,  and 
with  the  authority  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  himself,  withdraw 
his  name  from  the  consideration  of  this  convention  as  a 
candidate  for  the  presidency." 

Mr.  Butler  then  proceeded  to  state,  that  as  to  the  in- 
dividual to  whom  the  vote  of  New  York  would  be  given, 
the  resolution  of  the  delegates  authorizing  him  to  with- 
draw the  name  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  which  he  had  pre- 
viously mentioned,  directed  him  to  say,  that  each  dele- 
gate would  vote  according  to  his  own  sense  of  duty. 
He  was,  however,  permitted  to  state  his  own  next  pref- 
erences ;  and  he  thereupon  declared  that  he  should  vote 
for  James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee.  After  delivering  a 
high  encomium  on  the  virtues,  talents,  and  patriotism  of 
Mr.  Polk,  he  concluded  by  saying : 

"  Since  my  arrival  in  this  city  I  have  received  a  letter 
from  the  hermitage,  in  which  the  apprehensions  and  re- 
grets occasioned  by  these  untoward  circumstances  are 
repeatedly  referred  to,  and  from  which,  now  that  I  can 
do  it  without  impropriety,  I  take  the  liberty  to  read  the 
closing  lines  :  '  May  God  bless  you,  my  dear  friend,  and 
preside  over  your  deliberations,  and  may  confidence,  on 
the  part  of  all  the  democracy,  again  be  united  on  Mr. 
Van  Buren.  This  is  the  sincere  prayer  of  your  friend, 
Andrew  Jackson.' 

"Now,  Mr.  President,  though  this  prayer  may  not  be 
fulfilled  in  the  precise  form  in  which  it  was  expressed 
and  desired  by  him  who  offered  it,  it  may  well  be  that 
Providence  designs  to  answer  it  in  substance,  more  sure- 
ly and  completely,  with  James  K.  Polk  as  our  candidate. 


•164  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OP  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

than  could  have  been  done  with  any  other  leader.  Such, 
I  would  fain  hope — such,  sir,  as  I  read  them,  are  the  au- 
guries of  the  present  hour.  I  rely  on  the  nomination  in 
which  we  are  now  about  to  unite,  for  union,  harmony, 
success.  And  I  trust  that  long  ere  the  good  old  patriot 
of  the  hermitage  is  called  from  the  anxieties  and  cares 
of  earth  to  the" rewards  of  immortality,  he  may  be  per- 
mitted to  hear  from  every  corner  of  this  glorious  Union, 
the  shouts  of  the  democracy  over  the  triumph  of  our 
party  and  our  principles,  and  the  redemption  of  our 
country  in  November,  1844." 

We  are  aware  that  we  do  injustice  to  Mr.  Butler  by 
giving  only  detached  parts  of  this  speech,  but  the  limits 
prescribed  to  this  work  will  not  permit  us  to  present  the 
reader  with  the  whole  of  it.  His  ardent  friendship  for 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  democ- 
racy of  the  Union,  and  the  intensity  of  his  feelings  were 
evinced  by  every  word  he  uttered,  and  produced  a 
most  thrilling  effect  upon  his  audience.  In  every  part 
of  the  speech  he  was  interrupted  by  loud  and  hearty 
cheers ;  and  "  he  sat  down,"  says  the  reporter,  "  under  a 
burst  of  applause  which  was  continued  for  a  long  time." 

Gov.  Dickinson,  of  New  York,  here  rose,  asking  if 
New  York  had  been  called ;  and  on  receiving  an  af- 
firmative answer,  said  he  would  announce  the  vote  in 
one  moment.  He  said  he  always  had  confidence  in  the 
masses,  and  this  convention  had  behaved  so  like  a  mass- 
meeting,  that  he  felt  quite  at  home.  New  York  was  now 
in  a  situation  to  do  what  the  delegation  were  sent  there 
to  do — to  help  make  a  nomination  for  president.  He 
would  not  travel  over  the  ground  that  had  been  so  well 
occupied  by  his  colleague ;  but  he  must  be  permitted  to 
express  the  hope  that  it  would  not  now  be  a  matter  of 


1844.]  MASS-MEETING  IN  N.  Y.  CITY.  •!(>.". 

regret,  on  the  part  of  her  brethren  of  other  states,  that 
New  York  had  a  giant's  strength,  nor  did  he  presume 
that  it  would  be  deemed  tyrannical  if  she  now  used  it 
like  a  giant.  New  York  gave  thirty-five  votes  for 
James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee,  and  one  blank. 

Mr.  Walker  then  rose,  and  said  he  hoped  he  should 
be  indulged  while  he  poured  out  his  thankful  gratitude 
to  the  great  and  noble^emocracy  of  New  York,  for  the 
generous  and  patriotic  sacrifice  which  she  had  made  on 
this  occasion.  "  Sir,"  said  he,  "  that  great  and  noble 
state  has  not  only  saved  the  democracy  of  the  Union, 
but  in  my  soul  and  conscience  I  believe  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say,  that  she  has  saved  the  Union.  Yes,  sir, 
but  for  her,  utterly  fruitless  would  have  been  the  effort 
to  unite  the  democracy  of  the  Union." 

About  three  weeks  after  the  Baltimore  Convention 
was  held,  when  Mr.  Wright  was  passing  through  the 
city  of  New  York  on  his  return  from  Washington,  an 
immensely  large  democratic  mass-meeting  was  held  at 
Castle  Garden,  in  that  city,  to  respond  to  the  Baltimore 
Convention.  Mr.  Butler  was  chosen  chairman  of  the 
meeting.  In  the  course  of  its  proceedings,  Mr.  Wright 
being  in  attendance,  was  loudly  called  for.  He  was  in- 
troduced by  the  chairman,  who  took  occasion  to  state  to 
the  meeting  the  desire  of  the  delegates,  from  this  and 
several  other  states,  on  the  withdrawal  of  the  name  of 
Mr.  Van  Buren,  to  propose  to  the  convention  that  of  Mr. 
Wright ;  and  that  they  were  prevented  from  doing  so 
by  Judge  Fine  producing  his  letter,  of  which  a  copy  has 
already  been  given.  Mr.  Butler  also  alluded  to  the 
nomination  by  the  convention  of  Mr.  Wright  for  the 
office  of  vice-president,  and  his  refusal  to  stand  as  a  can- 
didate for  that  office. 

30 


466  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

Mr.  Wright,  in  his  response,  said  to  the  meeting  in 
relation  to  his  refusal  to  permit  his  name  to  be  used  as  a 
candidate  for  the  presidency,  the  substance  of  what  is 
contained  in  his  letter  to  Judge  Fine.  He  also  gave 
his  reasons  for  declining  the  nomination  for  the  vice- 
presidency  ;  and  it  is  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  him  to 
speak  to  the  reader  on  that  subject  himself,  that  we 
have  introduced  this  account  of  die  proceedings  at  Cas- 
tle Garden. 

"  With  respect  to  the  nomination  for  the  second  office 
in  the  government,"  said  Mr.  Wright,  "  which  was  ten- 
dered to  me  in  a  manner  so  generous,  so  magnanimous, 
as  to  be  entitled  to  my  everlasting  thanks — and  these 
feelings  of  gratitude  I  feel,  and  have  attempted  to  ex- 
press to  that  body  as  I  now  do  to  you — yet  I  felt  myself 
no  more  at  liberty  to  accept  that  honor  than  the  former, 
had  it  been  offered  ;  and  an  additional  reason,  peculiar- 
ly strong,  interposed  itself  without  our  agency.  It  was 
a  new  question.  I  refer  to  the  annexation  of  Texas  to 
the  United  States.  Mr.  Van  Buren,"  continued  Mr. 
Wright,  "  had,  upon  the  call  of  a  delegate  to  that  con- 
vention, addressed  to  the  public  a  letter,  giving  his  opin- 
ions on  that  question.  That  letter  was  not  acceptable 
to  a  large  portion  of  the  democracy  in  one  section  of  the 
country.  The  opinions  he  entertained  constituted  one, 
and  a  principal  one,  of  the  objections  to  his  nomination. 
Upon  the  most  mature  consideration  of  the  subject,  with 
all  the  information  I  did  possess,  or  was  able  to  collect, 
I  was  compelled  to  approve  of  his  letter  in  my  judg- 
ment. At  the  time  of  the  sitting  of  the  convention  I  had 
made  up  my  mind  ;  I  had  no.  instructions  from  you,  or 
from  those  I  represented.  Our  state  had  never  acted 
upon  that  question.  I  was  left  to  form  my  own  judg- 


1844.]  SPEECH  OF  MB.  WEIGHT.  467 

ment  of  its  merits.  That  judgment  was,  that  I  could  not 
vote  for  the  treaty  then  presented  to  the  senate.  That 
vote  was  soon  to  be  given.  It  could  not  be  known  to 
the  convention,  and  it  would  have  been  unfair  on  my 
part  to  accept  a  nomination  when  I  believed  that  act 
would  meet  the  disapprobation  of  at  least  a  large  num- 
ber of  that  body.  Promptly,  then,  I  declined  the  nomi- 
nation on  that  ground.  Another  point  influenced  me 
strongly,  and  I  mention  it  because  I  fear  I  may  be  sub- 
jected to  the  accusation  that  a  miff  of  feeling  influenced 
me  because  my  favorite  candidate  had  not  been  select- 
ed. If  I  know  myself,  no  such  feeling  was  present  with 
me  at  any  moment.  But  I  did  not  feel  that  when  you  and 
the  great  body  of  the  democracy  of  the  state  had  expressed 
and  sent  up  to  that  respectable  body,  representing  the 
democracy  of  the  whole  country,  a  preference  for  a  can- 
didate for  the  first  office,  and  when  that  candidate  had 
not  been  selected — I  did  not  feel  that  I  had  a  right  to 
assume,  either  that  I  was  your  choice  for  the  second 
office  in  the  people's  gift,  or  that  I  had  a  right  to  desig- 
nate the  man. 

"  1  felt  further — and  if  I  erred  you  certainly  ought  to 
know  it — and  I  certainly  stand  responsible  for  the  error — 
I  feared  that  we  might  be  charged  as  having  required 
the  second  nomination  to  conciliate  us  to  the  support  of 
the  first,  differing  as  it  did  from  that  which  we  preferred. 
And  never — no,  never,  fellow-citizens,  could  I  consent 
to  be  subjected  to  such  a  suspicion,  much  less  could  I 
subject  your  patriotism  and  attachment  to  the  demo- 
cratic cause  and  its  principles,  to  such  imputation.  I 
desired  to  leave  you  free,  knowing,  or  at  least  acting 
under  the  impression,  that  my  democratic  brethren 
throughout  the  state  would  honorably  and  ardently  re- 


468  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

deem  the  pledge  they  had  ever  made  that  they  would 
support  the  nominations  of  the  convention.  I  desired 
that  your  support  should  be  given  in  that  frank,  and 
manly,  and  honest  manner,  and  not  from  the  assumed  fact 
that  an  humble  fellow-citizen  of  yours  had  been  placed 
upon  the  ticket.  And  now  I  feel  assured  it  will  be  so, 
and  that  Polk  and  Dallas  will  receive  as  cordial  a  sup- 
port as  would  Mr.  Van  Buren,  or  any  other  man  in  the 
country." 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  add,  that  Mr.  Wright's 
reception  by  the  meeting  was  most  cordial,  and  that  his 
speech,  of  which  we  have  given  but  a  very  small  part, 
was  received  with  acclamations,  and  greeted  with  long 
and  loud  applause. 

Mr.  Polk  was  apparently  brought  forward  as  a  peace- 
maker, or  mediator  between  two  contending  parties, 
consisting  of  the  friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  on  one  side, 
and  a  combination  of  the  friends  of  Messrs.  Cass,  Wood- 
bury,  and  Buchanan  on  the  other.  But  our  correspon- 
dent says  that  the  legitimate  or  original  friends  of  Mr. 
Cass,  independent  of  the  party  for  Texas  annexation, 
meaning,  we  suppose,  the  southern  party,  were  but  ten 
in  number,  and  those  of  Mr.  Woodbury  only  six. 
Whether  the  name  of  Mr.  Polk  was  introduced  from 
the  impulse  of  the  moment,  produced  by  the  existing 
exigency,  and  entirely  without  preconcert,  or  whether 
in  anticipation  that  the  state  of  things  must  and  would 
occur,  which  actually  did  happen  before  his  name  was 
mentioned,  his  friends  had  not,  for  a  long  time  before  the 
convention,  formed  a  project  of  making  him  a  candidate,  is 
and  probably  ever  will  be  a  matter  of  curious  speculation. 
There  are  one  or  two  considerations  which  would  seem 
to  indicate  that  the  latter  conjecture  is  probably  correct. 


1814.]  POLICY  OF  SOUTHERN  POLITICIANS.  460 

First.  The  democracy  of  Tennessee  were  supposed 
to  be  the  peculiar  friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.  They 
had  cordially  agreed  with  him  in  all  his  measures.  Gen. 
Jackson,  Mr.  Polk,  and  Mr.  Cave  Johnson,  were  the 
leaders,  and  were  presumed  to  influence  the  action  of 
the  democratic  party  in  that  state.  They  were  ardent 
personal  and  political  friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  yet 
the  Tennessee  convention  in  the  winter  of  1844  refused 
to  recommend  Mr.  Van  Buren  for  the  presidency. 

Second.  After  Mr.  Folk's  election,  Mr.  Buchanan, 
who,  at  the  convention,  influenced  the  delegation  of 
Pennsylvania  against  Mr.  Van  Buren,  was  appointed 
secretary  of  state ;  Mr.  Walker,  a  most  zealous  oppo- 
nent in  the  convention  to  Mr.  V.  B.,  was  made  secreta- 
ry of  the  treasury ;  Mr.  Cave  Johnson,  the  confidential 
friend  of  the  New  York  delegation,  received  the  office  of 
postmaster-general ;  and  on  Gen.  Saunders  was  confer- 
red a  foreign  mission. 

It  is,  however,  submitted,  that  it  is  more  probable  that 
the  shrewd  and  sagacious  politicians  from  the  South, 
long  before  the  meeting  of  the  convention,  foresaw  that 
a  difference  would  be  produced  between  the  friends  of 
the  northern  candidates,  Van  Buren,  Cass,  Buchanan, 
and  Woodbury ;  that  the  agitation  of  their  conflicting 
claims  would  produce  much  and  highly  excited  feeling 
between  the  partisans  of  these  candidates ;  and  when 
that  excitement  should  reach  its  culminating  point,  it 
would  be  the  proper  moment  to  bring  forward  the  name 
of  a  citizen  of  one  of  the  southern  states  as  the  most 
available  candidate.  Thus  they  did  not  settle  on  any 
individual,  but  left  it  for  time  to  develop  what  southern 
gentleman — say  King  of  Alabama,  Walker,  or  Polk — 
would  receive  the  strongest  support  of  the  delegates 


470  POLITICAL,  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

from  the  grain-growing  states,  in  the  mean  time  keep- 
ing their  own  ranks  unbroken,  ready  to  give  an  undivi- 
ded vote  for  that  southern  candidate  who  could  rally  the 
greatest  number  of  friends  from  the  northern  and  north- 
western states.  Although  southern  gentlemen  are  con- 
stitutionally ardent  and  impetuous,  no  politicians  in  the 
world  know  better  how  to  "  bide  their  time"  than  they. 
The  moment  New  York  declared  for  Col.  Polk  they 
were  no  longer  the  friends  of  Gen.  Cass,  but  forthwith 
abandoned  him,  and  with  great  unanimity  supported  Mr. 
Polk.  This  hypothesis  seems  to  us  more  probable  than 
the  conjecture  that  the  southern  politicians  had,  previous 
to  the  convention,  concocted  their  scheme  of  operations 
solely  with  a  view  to  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Polk. 

"  I  do  not,"  says  the  delegate  to  the  Baltimore  Con- 
vention from  whom  we  have  quoted  so  much,  "  charge 
Mr.  Van  Buren's  defeat  at  the  convention  entirely  to 
the  '  slave  power,'  but  to  its  influence  operating  upon  the 
ambition  of  other  political  aspirants  for  the  presidential 
chair,  aided  by  the  patronage  of  the  Tyler  administra- 
tion, which  was  lavishly  bestowed  with  a  view  to  pre- 
vent his  success." 

After  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Polk,  and  before  an  ad- 
journment for  the  afternoon,  "  Mr.  Walker,"  says  the 
reporter  of  the  proceedings,  "  took  the  floor,  and  after  a 
few  remarks  on  the  happy  consummation  of  the  morn- 
ing's session,  nominated  the  Hon.  SILAS  WRIGHT  as  a 
candidate  for  the  vice-presidency,  expressing  the  hope 
that  it  might  be  done  by  acclamation.  Mr.  W.  pro- 
nounced a  high  eulogium  on  the  moral  and  political  char- 
acter of  Silas  Wright,  declaring  him  to  be  the  Nestor 
of  the  Union,  of  the  most  pure  and  disinterested  char- 
acter. 


1844.]  MR.   WRIGHT  AND  TIIE  CONVENTION.  471 

"  Mr.  Dromgoole,  of  Virginia,  rose,  as  the  organ  of  the 
delegation  from  that  state,  to  second  the  nomination  of 
Silas  Wright.  He  addressed  the  convention  at  great 
length  on  political  topics  generally,  eulogizing  the  char- 
acter of  Silas  Wright  as  one  of  the  most  pure  and  patri- 
otic statesmen  in  the  Union. 

"  The  convention  then  proceeded  to  ballot  for  vice- 
president,  when  the  whole  vote  was  cast  for  Silas 
Wright,  with  the  exception  of  eight  votes  from  the  state 
of  Georgia." 

Judge  Fine,  at  the  request  of  the  convention,  spoke 
to  Mr.  Wright  through  the  telegraph,  informing  him  of 
his  nomination,  and  inquired  of  him  if  he  would  accept 
and  stand  as  a  candidate.  To  this  inquiry  Mr.  Wright 
promptly  answered  in  the  negative.  Some  persons 
doubting  whether  the  question  or  answer  had  not  been 
misunderstood,  Judge  Fine,  after  stating  the  unanimity 
with  which  the  nomination  had  been  made,  and  the 
universal  and  anxious  desire  that  he  would  accept,  re- 
peated his  question.  The  answer  was,  "  No ;  under 
no  circumstances."  The  convention  then  adjourned 
until  the  next  morning,  when  Mr.  Butler  received  and 
communicated  to  the  convention  the  following  letter 
from  Mr.  Wright : 

"  WASHINGTON,  29th  May,  1844. 
"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — 

"  Being  advised  that  the  convention,  of  which  you 
are  a  member,  has  conferred  upon  me  the  unmerited 
honor  of  nominating  me  as  a  candidate  for  the  office 
of  vice-president,  will  you,  if  this  information  be  cor- 
rect, present  my  profound  thanks  to  the  convention 
for  this  mark  of  confidence  and  favor ;  and  say  for 


472  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

me  that  circumstances,  which  I  do  not  think  it  necessary 
to  detail  to  it,  but  which  I  very  briefly  hint  to  you,  [in 
another  private  letter  to  Mr.  B.,]  render  it  impossible 
that  I  should,  consistently  with  my  sense  of  public  duty 
and  private  obligations,  accept  this  nomination. 
"  I  am,  with  great  respect, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  SILAS  WEIGHT. 
"  Hon.  B.  F.  BUTLER." 

After  the  reading  of  this  letter  two  or  three  ballotings 
succeeded  without  a  choice,  but  the  last  ballot  resulted 
in  a  pretty  unanimous  vote  for  Mr.  George  M.  Dallas, 
[220,]  who  was  thereupon  declared  duly  nominated. 

We  will  close  the  account  of  this  convention  by  an- 
other quotation  from  our  correspondent.  Speaking  of 
the  declension  of  Mr.  Wright,  he  says  :  "  But  a  few 
months  before  he  had  declined  an  appointment  to  the 
bench  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  that  he 
might  be  serviceable  to  his  old  and  cherished  friend, 
whom  the  democracy  in  almost  every  state  in  the  Union, 
with  singular  unanimity,  had  designated  as  their  candi- 
date for  president.  He  could  not  accept  at  the  hands 
of  a  convention  an  office  when  that  convention  had 
disobeyed  the  declared  will  of  their  constituents,  and 
sacrificed  his  friend,  who  had  been  dragged  there  an 
unwilling  victim." 

During  the  session  of  the  democratic  convention,  a 
few  gentlemen  from  New  York  and  some  of  the  other 
states  held  a  meeting  in  Baltimore,  and  nominated  Mr. 
Tyler  as  a  candidate  for  the  presidency,  but  immediately 
after  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Polk  was  announced,  he  de 
clined  to  canvass  for  the  office. 


1844.]  WHIG  CONVENTION  OF  1844.  473 

The  whigs  appear  to  have  reserved  their  energies  for 
the  great  national  contest  at  the  ensuing  presidential 
election.  The  public  sentiment  of  the  party  had  settled 
upon  HENRY  CLAY.  In  1840  his  nomination  would  have 
been  in  accordance  with  the  private  feelings  and  wishes 
of  a  great  majority  of  the  party.  But  he  had  been 
beaten  in  1832  by  the  dazzling  popularity  of  Gen.  Jack- 
son, and  on  the  issue  in  relation  to  the  recharter  of  a 
national  bank.  Many  of  the  whig  politicians  were  im- 
pressed with  the  opinion  that  the  renomination  of  Mr. 
Clay  would  force  upon  them  the  same  issue  which  had 
been  decided  in  '32  ;  and  they  therefore  judged  that  sound 
policy  required  the  selection  of  another  candidate.  In 
that  opinion  a  majority  of  the  whig  national  convention  in 
1840  concurred,  and  Gen.  Harrison  was  made  the  whig 
candidate.  Mr.  Clay,  however,  had  many  ardent  friends 
in  the  convention,  who  yielded  with  great  and  almost 
insurmountable  reluctance.  Perhaps  there  is  not  an- 
other man  in  the  United  States  who  has  so  many  per- 
sonal friends  as  Mr.  Clay  ;  and  that  circumstance,  con- 
nected with  the  recollection  of  the  promptness  with 
which  he  himself  concurred  in  the  nomination  of  Gen. 
Harrison,  his  efficient  and  zealous  efforts  in  support  of 
the  election  of  his  successful  rival,  and  his  gallant  and 
noble  bearing  during  all  the  misfortunes  which  happen- 
ed to  the  whig  party  in  consequence  of  the  death  of 
Gen.  Harrison  and  the  defection  of  Mr.  Tyler,  produced 
a  feeling  in  his  party  throughout  the  nation  in  favor  of 
his  nomination  in  1844,  which  was  entirely  irresistible. 
The  effort  to  resist  it  would  have  been  as  useless  as  it 
would  be  to  attempt  to  arrest  the  fall  of  water  at  the 
Niagara  cataract. 

The  whig  national  convention  was  held  at  Baltimore 


474  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

on  the  1st  of  May.  Two  hundred  and  seventy-five  del- 
egates were  present,  and  the  venerable  AMBROSE  SPEN- 
CER, the  able  and  learned  late  chief-justice  of  this  state, 
was  chosen  president,  and  twenty  vice-presidents  and 
six  secretaries  were  appointed.  Immediately  after  the 
organization,  HENRY  CLAY  was  nominated  for  president 
with  acclamations  the  most  enthusiastic. 

Some  difference  of  opinion  prevailed  in  the  conven- 
tion in  relation  to  the  selection  of  a  candidate  for  the 
vice-presidency. 

JOHN  DAVIS,  the  present  senator  and  late  governor  of 
Massachusetts,  was  supported  principally  by  the  dele- 
gates from  the  eastern  states ;  MILLARD  FILLMORE,  by 
those  from  the  state  of  New  York  and  from  some  of  the 
western  states ;  and  THEODORE  FRELINGHUYSEN,  by  those 
from  New  Jersey  and  other  states. 

It  is  remarkable  that  a  great  number,  and  we  believe 
a  majority  of  the  men  who  have  most  attracted  public 
attention  and  most  influenced  public  opinion  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  and  indeed  in  several  of  the  other  states, 
are  self-made  men,  who  have  risen  to  distinction  by 
their  personal  merit  and  their  own  individual  efforts, 
without  the  aid  of  wealth  or  influential  connections. 
This  is  eminently  the  case  with  Mr.  Fillmore.  We  be- 
lieve he  did  not  come  to  the  bar  very  early  in  life.  At 
any  rate,  before  he  had  practised  law  a  sufficient  length 
of  time  to  distinguish  himself  in  his  profession,  he  was 
elected  to  the  assembly  of  this  state  from  the  county  of 
Erie.  He  had  not  been  long  in  public  life  when  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  congress  from  the  district  that 
included  the  county  in  which  he  resided.  In  congress, 
by  his  industry,  talents,  and  great  moderation  and  pru- 
dence, he  soon  acquired  a  powerful  and  commanding 


1844.]  NOMINATION  OF  MR.   FRELINGHDYSEN.  475 

influence  ;  and  during  the  last  congress,  of  which  he  was 
a  member,  he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  of  ways 
and  means,  a  position  the  most  honorable  and  responsi- 
ble of  any  in  the  house  of  representatives.  In  that  sit- 
uation he  discharged  so  well  and  so  ably  his  duties,  that 
when  he  left  that  body  perhaps  no  member  of  it  held  a 
higher  standing  in  the  house  or  the  nation  than  he.  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen,  however,  had  been  a  senator  of  the  Uni- 
ted States ;  he  was  the  favorite  of  the  whigs  in  New 
Jersey,  and  the  party  were  desirous  of  strengthening 
themselves  in  that  state  ;  besides,  he  was  a  man  of  re- 
spectable talents,  great  erudition,  and  highly  distinguish- 
ed for  purity  of  character,  for  piety,  and  all  the  private 
and  social  virtues. 

In  the  convention  there  were  three  ballotings  for  a 
candidate  for  vice-president.  On  the  last  ballot  Mr. 
Frelinghuysen  received  155  votes,  and  was  declared 
nominated.  The  whigs  did  not  embarrass  themselves 
with  the  two-third  rule,  as  appears  from  the  following 
statement,  which  presents  the  result  of  the  three  ballot- 
ings  : 

1st  ballot.  Sd  ballot.  3d  ballot. 

T.  Frelinghuysen 101  118  155 

John  Davis 83  74  79 

Millard  Fillmore 53  51  40 

John  Sergeant 38  32  withdrawn. 

Total, 275  275  274 


476  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Public  feeling  on  the  announcement  of  the  Presidential  Nominations — 
Native  American  Party — Liberty  Party — Anti-Rent  Party — Two  sec- 
tions of  the  Whig  Party — Conservative  and  Radical — Difficulties  in  the 
selection  of  a  Democratic  candidate  for  Governor — Radical  papers  de- 
mand the  Nomination  of  Mr.  Wright — His  unwillingness  to  be  H 
Candidate— His  Letter  to  the  Editor  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Republican — 
Syracuse  Convention — Mr.  Wright  nominated  for  Governor — Whip 
State  Convention — Secret  Circular — Mr.  Clay's  Letters — Their  Effect 
— Action  of  the  Native  American  Party — Also  of  the  Liberty  Party — 
Result  of  the  Election — Position  and  Policy  of  the  Governor  elect — Mr. 
Wright  resigns  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate — Governor  Bouck 
appoints  Messrs.  Dickinson  and  Foster  United  States  Senators  in  place 
of  Governor  Wright  and  N.  P.  Tallmadge. 

WE  now  return  from  the  brief  view  we  have  taken  ot 
political  contests  in  the  nation,  to  those  more  particu- 
.arly  pertaining  to  the  state  of  New  York. 

When  the  results  of  the  conventions  at  Baltimore  of  the 
two  great  parties  were  known  to  the  public,  the  prospect 
of  the  whigs  was  regarded  as  exceedingly  favorable,  and 
scarcely  any  reflecting  man  doubted  of  their  success. 
These  expectations  were  strengthened  by  the  success 
of  the  whigs  in  the  Albany  city  election,  at  which  thev 
succeeded  in  the  election  of  Friend  Humphrey  as  mayor 
by  G24  majority,  and  in  the  election  of  a  large  majority 
of  the  common  council. 

The  democratic  convention  at  Baltimore  had  passed  a 
resolution  in  favor  of  the  immediate  annexation  of  Texas. 
A  large  number  of  influential  democrats  were  opposed  to 
that  measure,  and  cordially  concurred  in  the  opinion  ex- 


1844.]  NATIVE  AMERICAN  PARTY.  477 

pressed  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Hammit. 
Many  others  were  opposed  to  annexation  because  the 
extension  of  slavery  would,  as  they  believed,  be  the  ef- 
fect of  adopting  the  project.  Mr.  Clay  had,  in  a  speech 
at  Raleigh,  in  North  Carolina,  declared  himself  opposed 
to  annexation. 

Mr.  Polk  was  a  new  man,  and  had  never  served  in 
any  of  the  executive  departments  of  the  nation,  nor  had 
he  had  any  diplomatic  experience ;  and  the  whigs, 
through  their  public  journals,  tauntingly  asked,  "Who 
is  James  K.  Polk  ?" 

It  was  also  conjectured  that  the  personal  and  more 
immediate  political  friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  would  be 
disposed  to  resent  his  violent  rejection  at  Baltimore 
merely  on  the  ground  of  his  opposition  to  Texas  annex- 
ation. But  the  whigs  were  soon  compelled  to  encoun- 
ter difficulties  which  they  did  not  anticipate.  Several 
new  parties  all  at  once  sprang  up,  and  unfortunately  for 
the  whigs,  drew  a  much  larger  number  from  their  ranks 
than  from  those  of  the  democrats.  It  will  therefore  be 
necessary  to  give  an  account  of  those  parties,  which  we 
shall  attempt  to  do  with  all  possible  brevity. 

The  great  influx  of  foreigners  into  the  city  of  New 
York  for  several  preceding  years,  and  the  facility  with 
which  our  naturalization  laws  permitted  foreigners  to 
become  voters,  had  enabled  the  adopted  citizens  to  hold 
the  balance  between  the  whigs  and  democrats  in  the 
city  elections.  The  consequence  was,  that  when  either 
party  obtained  a  victory,  the  adopted  citizens  claimed, 
as  was  alleged,  an  unreasonable  share  of  the  spoils ;  and 
the  amount  of  patronage  within  the  control  of  the  mayor 
and  common  council  of  the  city  of  New  York  was  very 
great.  This  the  native  citizens  thought  unreasonable  ; 


478  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

besides,  many  believed  that  a  residence  of  five  years  was 
too  short  a  period  to  enable  a  foreigner  to  acquire  a  suf- 
ficient knowledge  of  the  true  interests  of  this  country  and 
its  institutions,  to  qualify  him  to  exercise  judiciously  the 
functions  of  an  elector.  These  and  other  considerations 
induced  a  large  number,  including  among  them  a  great 
proportion  of  the  wealth,  and  talent,  and  respectability 
of  the  city,  to  unite  and  form  a  new  party,  under  the 
cognomen  of  "Native  Americans." 

Previous  to  the  April  election  in  1844,  the  whigs  had 
nominated  Mr.  Morris  Franklin,  and  the  democrats  Mr. 
Coddington.  both  worthy  and  respectable  citizens,  for 
the  office  of  mayor.  The"  natives  held  a  meeting  and 
nominated  Mr.  Harper,  of  the  celebrated  publishing  firm 
of  "  Harper  and  Brothers."  He  was  elected  by  a  ma- 
jority of  4,316.  The  natives  also  elected  a  majority  of 
the  aldermen  and  assistant  aldermen  of  the  city.  After 
giving  the  result  of  this  election,  the  shrewd  editor  of 
the  Albany  Argus  pronounced  it  "  a  virtual  extinguish- 
ment of  the  hopes  of  the  partisans  of  Mr.  Clay  in  the 
city  of  New  York."  How  correct  this  prediction  was 
will  appear  in  the  sequel. 

Another  party,  which  had  grown  into  considerable 
importance,  was  known  by  the  name  of  "  The  Liberty 
Party."  This  party  grew  out  of  the  abolition  societies, 
which  were  formed  by  associations  to  promote  the  im- 
mediate emancipation  of  slaves ;  of  its  origin  we  have 
given  an  account  in  a  preceding  volume.* 

This  party  had  one  article  in  their  creed  which  they 
regarded  as  paramount  to  all  others.  Indeed,  some  of 
their  presses  claimed  that  it  was  a  party  of  "  one  idea." 


*  2  Political  History,  p.  455 


1844.]  THE  LIBERTY  PARTY.  479 

They  cared  not  whether  a  man  was  called  whig  or  tory, 
democrat  or  aristocrat;  if  he  would  declare  that  he  would 
not  vote  for  a  slaveholder,  nor  for  any  citizen  who  would 
vote  for  a  slaveholder,  they  hailed  him  as  a  brother: 
if  not,  however  much  he  might  condemn  and  oppose 
slavery,  he  was  denounced,  and  excluded  from  the 
pale  of  the  party.  And  yet  this  party,  in  propor- 
tion to  its  numbers,  probably  contains  more  men  of 
wealth,  of  talents,  and  personal  worth,  than  any  party 
in  the  state.  The  excellent  and  pure-minded  WILLIAM 
JAY,  the  zealous,  benevolent,  and  talented  GERRIT  SMITH, 
the  eloquent  and  able,  though  eccentric,  ALVAN  STEW- 
ART, the  reverend  and  learned  Professor  BERIAH  GREEN, 
and  a  host  of  others,  would  add  strength  and  dignity  to 
any  party  in  the  state  or  nation.  They  have,  too,  sev- 
eral able  newspaper  editors,  among  whom  we  cannot 
refrain  from  mentioning  WESTLY  BAILEY,  editor  of  the 
Liberty  Press,  published  at  Utica,  a  man  whose  tact 
and  talents  as  an  editor  qualify  him  to  conduct,  with 
success,  any  one  of  the  most  important  political  periodicals 
in  the  United  States.  The  liberty  party,  of  course,  were 
opposed  to  the  annexation  of  Texas.  It  was  therefore 
evident  they  could  not  support  Mr.  Polk,  because  he 
had  been  preferred  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  for  the  sole  reason 
that  he  was  in  favor  of  annexation,  and  because  the 
convention  which  nominated  him  had,  with  apparent 
unanimity,  resolved  to  support  that  project  as  "  a  great 
American  measure."  The  whigs  very  naturally  con- 
cluded that  as  Mr.  Clay  was  committed  against  annex- 
ation, and  as  the  whig  party  in  this  state  generally 
avowed  themselves  in  favor  of  universal  emancipation, 
that  inasmuch  as  the  liberty  party  could  not  hope,  and 
did  not  even  pretend  that  they  had  the  power  of  elect- 


480  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

ing  an  abolitionist  for  president,  they  would,  upon  the 
principle  of  choosing  the  lesser  evil,  cast  their  votes  for 
Mr.  Clay  and  for  the  whig  candidate  for  governor.  In 
this  expectation  they  were  entirely  mistaken.  They 
did  not  then  know  the  indomitable  firmness,  perhaps  we 
may  say  obstinacy,  of  those  people.  Mr.  Clay  was  a 
slaveholder,  and  some  of  his  supporters  were  slavehold- 
ers. The  abolitionists,  therefore,  could  not  and  would 
not  support  him.  They  early  nominated  Jarnes  G.  Birney 
for  president,  who  was  formerly  a  slaveholder  in  Ken- 
tucky, but  who,  from  conscientious  motives,  had  emanci- 
pated his  slaves,  and  migrated  to  the  state  of  Michigan,  and 
Alvan  Stewart  for  governor  of  the  state  of  New  York. 

There  was  still  another  party,  which,  at  the  election 
in  November,  1844,  exhibited  itself  at  the  polls,  which 
is  known  as  the  anti-rent  party.  There  had,  during  the 
winter  of  this  year,  been  several  outrages  committed  by 
the  tenants  of  Gen.  Van  Rensselaer,  in  the  county  of 
Albany,  and  disorders  of  a  similar  character  soon  ap- 
peared in  the  counties  of  Delaware,  Columbia,  Greene, 
and  Rensselaer.  The  pretence  for  these  outrages  was 
the  rigid  and,  as  was  alleged,  unreasonable  conditions 
contained  in  the  leases  by  which  the  tenants  held  their 
lands.  The  history  of  the  acts  of  violence  committed 
by  those  people,  and  of  their  resistance  by  physical 
force  to  the  execution  of  civil  process,  does  not  come 
properly  within  the  scope  of  this  work.*  But  there  was 


*  The  history  of  the  anti-rent  excitement,  and  the  grievances  of  which 
the  tenantry  in  some  parts  of  the  state  complained,  are  very  ably  and  can- 
didly given  by  the  present  governor  in  his  proclamation  for  the  pardon  of 
Daniel  W.  Squires,  Daniel  Northrop,  and  some  fifteen  others,  who  at  the 
Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  in  Delaware  county,  held  in  the  year  1846, 
had  "been  convicted  and  sentenced  to  the  state  prison  for  outrages  com- 


1844.]  ANTI-RENT  PARTY.  181 

;i  large  class  of  citizens  of  the  counties  vv-.;  have  men- 
tioned, who  entirely  disapproved  of  physical  opposition 
to  the  laws,  and  who  contended  that  long  leases,  and  the 
provisions  of  forfeiture  for  breaches  of  trifling  and  friv- 
olous covenants,  and  the  restraint  on  alienation  by  the 
tenant,  by  means  of  clauses  in  leases  covenanting  thai 
heavy  fines,  under  the  name  of  "  quarter  sales"  should 
be  paid  by  the  tenant  to  his  landlord  upon  a  transfer  of 
the  interest  of  the  former  in  the  demised  premises,  tend- 
ed to  prevent  useful  and  permanent  improvements  of  the 
country,  and  were  inconsistent  with  the  genius  of  our 
government.  They  also  complained  that  the  law  which 
authorized  the  summary  collection  of  rent  by  distress 
and  sale  was  unreasonably  oppressive.  They  insisted 
that  these  evils  ought  to  be  relieved  by  legislation,  and 
that  if  effectual  relief  could  be  obtained  in  no  other  way, 
that  the  state  ought  to  exercise  its  right  of  EMINENT  DO- 
MAIN. The  people  who  thus  reasoned  sought,  as  they 
had  a  right  to  do,  to  make  their  voice  heard  through 
the  ballot-box. 

Although  in  the  end  the  democrats  suffered  quite  as 
much  from  the  anti-rent  excitement,  and  perhaps  more 
than  the  whigs,  yet  the  appearance  in  the  political  field  of 
the  anti-rent  party,  in  addition  to  the  Native  Americans 
and  abolitionists,  was  calculated  to  confuse  and  derange 
both  parties,  and  especially  the  whigs,  who  were  not  so 
well  organized  as  the  democrats. 

About  this  time  (we  speak  now  of  the  spring  and 

mitted  in  consequence  of  the  anti-rent  excitement.  The  history  given  by 
Gov.  Young  on  that  occasion,  which  is  with  great  propriety  made  a  part 
ol  his  proclamation,  is  highly  interesting,  and  well  worthy  of  preservation. 
ll  ought  to  be  read  by  all  who  desire  to  become  acquainted  with  the  cause, 
rise,  and  progress  of  thf  anti-rent  disturbances. 

81 


18:2  POMTICAL  HISTORY  OF   NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

summer  of  1844)  there  began  to  appear  symptoms  of 
division  and  dissension  in  the  whig  party  proper.  A 
portion  of  that  party  viewed  with  favor  some  radical 
reforms  in  the  government,  which  began  to  be  talked  of, 
and  were  inclined  to  sustain  the  claims  of  adopted  citi- 
zens, particularly  the  Irish  Catholics ;  while  the  other 
portion  were  averse  to  innovation,  and  extremely  jeal- 
ous of  encouraging  the  interference  of  persons  born  for- 
eigners with  our  political  concerns.  Of  the  former  class 
of  whigs,  the  late  Gov.  Seward,  Mr.  Weed,  and  Mr. 
Greeley  of  the  Tribune,  were  the  most  prominent ;  and 
of  the  latter,  the  New  York  Courier  and  Enquirer,  un- 
der the  direction  of  Col.  Webb,  the  New  York  Express, 
under  the  management  of  Mr.  Brooks,  and  the  Buffalo 
Commercial  Advertiser,  were  the  organs.  The  former 
class,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  we  shall  call  radical,  and 
the  latter  conservative  whigs. 

While  the  whigs  were  laboring  under  these  embar- 
rassments, the  democrats  seemed  doomed  to  encounter 
still  greater  difficulties. 

The  opposition  to  the  renomination  of  Gov.  Bouck, 
on  the  part  of  the  state  officers  and  their  friends,  of 
whom  the  Albany  Atlas  was  the  especial  organ,  was 
determined  and  vigorous.  We  have  good  reasons  to  be- 
lieve that  Mr.  Van  Buren,  previous  to  the  Baltimore 
Convention,  desired  that  Mr.  Bouck  should  be  a  candi- 
date for  re-election.  He  himself  was  known  to  favor 
the  radical  section,  and  they  indeed  were  his  confidential 
friends.  If  therefore  he,  as  was  then  anticipated,  should 
be  the  presidential  candidate,  he  was  too  good  a  politi- 
cian not  to  perceive  that  a  cordial  union  of  the  friends 
of  Gov.  Bouck  and  the  radicals  was  essential  to  secure 
the  electoral  vote  of  the  state  of  New  York  :  and  if  Bouck 


1844.]  CONTENTIONS  OP  THE  DEMOCRATS.  483 

should  not  be  nominated,  he  could  not  be  sure  that  such 
union  would  take  place.  He  therefore  looked  with  dis- 
favor on  the  proceedings  of  the  minority  of  the  legisla- 
tive caucus.  We  assume  this  statement  to  be  true, 
rather  from  the  actual  condition  of  things,  and  the  posi- 
tion of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  than  from  any  specific  facts  in 
our  possession.  That  Mr.  Wright  entertained  the  views 
we  have  ascribed  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  we  have  the  evi- 
dence in  our  possession.  A  distinguished  member  of 
the  hunker  party  thus  writes  to  the  author : 

"  I  had  occasion  to  go  to  Washington  immediately 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  [1844,]  and 
while  I  was  there  I  called  upon  Mr.  Wright.  He  was 
evidently  very  much  annoyed  at  the  course  of  Mr.  Hoff- 
man and  others  in  the  legislative  caucus.  '  It,'  he  said, 
'  produced  an  impression  abroad  that  New  York  was  not 
united  upon  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  was  urged  by  his  op- 
ponents to  create  the  impression  that  he  was  not  an 
available  candidate.'  I  was  personally  anxious  to  have 
him  succeed,  not  only  because  I  was  friendly  to  him, 
but  also  because  I  knew  it  would  secure  the  renomina- 
tion  of  Gov.  Bouck.  I  do  not  think  Messrs.  Van  Buren 
and  Wright  liked  Mr.  Bouck,  but  in  view  of  Mr.  Van 
Buren's  nomination  they  were  very  desirous  to  prevent 
any  dangerous  controversy."  *  *  *  "  During  the  win- 
ter and  spring,"  says  the  same  gentleman,  "  constant  and 
repeated  efforts  were  made  by  Messrs.  Dennison,  Porter, 
and  others,  to  induce  Mr.  Wright  to  be  a  candidate  for 
the  office  of  governor.  This  he  firmly  refused." 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Atlas,  and  several  other  papers, 
urged  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Wright  for  governor  ;  and 
at  a  meeting  of  the  democrats  of  the  third  ward  of  A'- 
bany  he  was  nominated  for  that  office.  Mr.  Croswell 


484  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

thereupon  wrote  to  Mr.  Wright  informing  him  of  these 
facts,  and  of  an  apparent  determination  in  some  quarters 
to  make  him  a  candidate.  Mr.  Croswell  further  express- 
ed to  him  an  opinion,  that  if  he  would  consent  to  be  a 
candidate  Gov.  Bouck  would  withdraw  his  name.*  A 
letter  of  Gov.  Bouck's  has  been  shown  to  us,  in  which  he 
says,  "This  [Mr.  Croswell's]  letter  was  shown  me  by  Mr. 
Croswell,  and  I  gave  my  entire  assent  to  the  suggestion." 
Gov.  Bouck  probably  thought  that  he  could  not,  consis- 
tently with  his  character  or  honor,  yield  the  field  to  any 
of  those  persons  who  had  assailed  him ;  but  that  such 
had  been  the  course  of  Mr.  Wright  towards  him,  and 
such  was  the  high  standing  and  character  of  Mr.  W.  in 
the  state  and  nation,  that  he  could  with  propriety  de- 
cline in  his  favor.  Mr.  Wright  in  his  answer  to  Mr. 
Croswell,  which  was  received  at  Albany  early  in  May, 
stated  that  he  was  apprized  of  the  design  to  bring  him 
forward  as  a  candidate,  but  that  under  no  circumstances 
would  he  consent  that  his  name  should  be  used  for  that 
purpose.  In  that  letter  Mr.  Wright  authorized  Mr. 
Croswell  to  publish  the  card  that  was  published  in  the 
Argus  about  that  time,  and  which  is  recognised  by  Mr. 
Wright  in  his  letter  to  the  editors  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
Republican,  which  we  shall  by-and-by  copy. 

Still  the  Atlas,  and  other  radical  papers,  continued  to 
press  the  nomination  of  Mr  Wright.  We  are  sure  no 
one  will  suspect  that  he  held  one  language  to  the  editor 
of  the  Argus  and  another  to  the  editors  of  the  Atlas. 
The  Atlas,  and  those  with  whom  it  acted,  were  deter- 
mined, under  any  and  every  circumstance,  to  oppose  the 


*  We  have  this  information  from  au  unquestionable  source,  but  not 
•om  Mr.  Croswell. 


1844.]  CONTENTIONS  OF  THE  DEMOCRATS.  485 

nomination  of  Mr.  Bouck.  They  probably  used  the 
name  of  Mr.  Wright  under  the  impression  that  he  might 
eventually,  as  in  fact  he  did,  consent  to  be  a  candidate ; 
and  should  he  not  finally  consent,  the  use  of  his  name 
would  strengthen  the  opposition  to  the  renomination  of 
Mr.  Bouck. 

This  course  of  the  Atlas  and  its  friends  was  peculiar- 
ly embarrassing  to  the  hunkers,  and  especially  to  Gov. 
Bouck.  They  could  say  nothing  against  the  nomination 
of  Mr.  Wright  for  two  reasons  :  first,  because  Mr.  Bouck 
had  offered  to  support  his  nomination  ;  and,  secondly, 
because  they  had  declared,  and  they  believed  that  Mr. 
W.  would,  under  no  circumstances,  consent  to  be  a  can- 
didate. They  therefore  could  neither  oppose  Mr. 
Wright,  nor  withdraw  the  name  of  Mr.  Bouck,  while 
the  manner  in  which  the  name  of  the  former  was  used 
in  the  radical  newspapers  was  every  day  detaching 
friends  and  supporters  from  the  latter. 

It  is  confidently  alleged  by  the  friends  of  Gov.  Bouck, 
that  after  the  Baltimore  Convention  Mr.  Van  Buren 
changed  his  views,  and  desired  that  Mr.  Wright  should 
be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  government  of  New  York. 
It  was  now  urged  that  Gov.  Bouck's  retirement  was 
called  for  to  unite  ajl  interests.  Mr.  Bouck  felt  the  full 
force  of  these  considerations.  One  of  his  intimate  and 
confidential  friends  writes  thus  to  the  author  :  "  To  my 
knowledge  he  (Gov.  B.)  wished  to  withdraw  from  the 
field,  but  his  friends  overruled  him.  They  thought  he 
could  still  succeed.  But  from  this  time  the  tide  turned 
against  him.  Mr.  Wright's  nomination  was  called  for 
by  many  who  had  heretofore  condemned  the  war  against 
Mr.  Bouck,  and  the  fact  that  he  still  refused  to  be  a  can- 
didate seemed  only  to  strengthen  his  position  with  the 


486  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

public,  while  it  paralyzed  any  opposition  to  him.  No 
one  could  assail  him  while  he  refused  to  take  the  field." 
But  although  Mr.  Van  Buren  may  have  changed  his 
views  after  the  Baltimore  nomination,  Mr.  Wright  did 
not,  as  will  appear  from  his  letter  written  for  publication 
in  the  St.  Lawrence  Republican,  dated  so  late  as  the 
first  of  August.  There  is  so  much  of  modesty,  kind 
feeling,  and  good  sense  contained  in  this  letter,  that  we 
are  sure  the  reader  will  excuse  us  for  'copying  the  whole 
of  it. 

MESSRS.  HITCHCOCK  &  SMITH — 

The  public  papers  and  my  numerous  correspondents  admon- 
ish me  that  the  use  of  my  name,  in  connection  with  the  office 
of  governor  of  this  state,  requires  some  further  notice  from 
me,  and  I  ask  a  space  in  the  columns  of  your  paper  for  that 
purpose. 

Since  the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  in  January  last,  I  have 
been  frequently  solicited  to  consent  to  this  use  of  my  name, 
by  worthy  and  respected  friends,  members  of  that  body,  and 
others.  To  all  such  applications,  prompt  replies  have  been 
returned,  entirely  withholding  the  consent  asked.  In  one  or 
two  cases,  the  announcement  of  my  name  in  a  public  paper, 
as  a  probable  candidate  for  this  office,  led  to  a  correction, 
made  at  my  instance,  and  to  the  published  declaration  that  I 
interdicted  that  use  of  my  name. 

Not  having  succeeded  in  producing  a  general  understanding 
of  my  position  and  wishes,  by  these  steps,  at  about  the  ad- 
journment of  the  legislature,  I  requested  the  insertion  of  an 
urticle  in  the  state  paper,  in  the  following  language : 

"  MR.  WRIGHT  NOT  A  CANDIDATE  FOR  GOVERNOR. — We  have  been 
sfiowii  a  late  letter  from  Mr.  Wright,  addressed  to  a  friend  in  this  city,  in 
which  he  states  explicitly,  that  he  is  not  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  gov- 
ernor, and  that  he  shall  not  be,  under  any  circumstances  he  is  able  to  an- 
ticipate. Mr.  Wright  says  he  does  not  desire  that  office  upon  any  terms, 
and  he  certaiuly  shall  not  knowingly  make  himself  the  means  of  difficul- 
ties or  divisions  in  the  democratic  parly  of  the  state,  to  which  he  is  so 


1844.]  LETTER  OF  MR.  WRIGHT.  487 

deeply  indebted,  at  any  time,  upon  any  question,  or  for  any  object ;  and 
certainly  not  at  a  time  like  the  present,  when  a  vital  national  contest  de- 
mands perfect  harmony,  and  the  united  and  patriotic  exertions  of  the 
whole  party.  He  adds,  that  he  has  communicated  these  determinations 
to  several  members  of  the  legislature,  long  since,  and  that  the  proceedings 
of  certain  meetings  of  his  friends  in  this  county,  making  use  of  his  name, 
had  escaped  his  notice,  until  his  attention  was  drawn  to  them  by  his  cor- 
respondent" 

This  I  had  hoped  would  have  saved  me  from  misconstruc- 
tion, and  my  friends  from  misunderstanding,  and  spared  me 
the  necessity  of  further  troubling  the  public  upon  this  point. 

This  expectation,  however,  has  not  been  realized,  and  the 
recent  use  of  my  name  by  several  meetings  and  associations 
of  republicans,  and  in  various  democratic  newspapers,  is,  I  find, 
producing  extensively  the  impression  that  my  dispositions  have 
undergone  a  change,  and  that  my  assent  has  been  given  to 
these  proceedings. 

It  therefore  becomes  incumbent  upon  me,  as  I  think,  to 
correct  this  erroneous  impression,  and  to  put  an  end  to  mis- 
apprehension and  misunderstanding,  by  declaring  that  my 
opinions,  and  feelings,  and  wishes  have  undergone  no  change ; 
that  I  am  not  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  governor  at  the  ap- 
proaching election  ;  and  that  I  have  no  right,  in  my  judgment, 
to  become,  and  cannot,  under  any  circumstances,  consent  to  be 
made  a  competitor  for  the  nomination,  either  before  the  people,  or 
the  state  convention,  against  any  republican  who  is,  or  who  may 
become  a  candidate. 

My  private  feelings  and  interests  render  the  office  of  gov- 
ernor, elevated  and  honorable  as  it  truly  is,  undesirable  to  me  ; 
and  the  many  favors  I  have  received  from  the  democracy  of 
this  state,  and  the  high  and  responsible  office  I  now  hold 
through  their  kindness  and  confidence,  forbid  that  I  should 
consent  to  disturb  the  harmony,  or  impair  the  strength  of  that 
party,  by  permitting  myself  to  become  a  competitor  for  any 
higher  or  other  honors.  My  dispositions  and  my  duty  coincide 
here,  for  I  have  no  ambition  for  more  difficult  or  weighty  re- 
sponsibilities than  those  pertaining  to  the  place  I  now  hold. 
Conscious  as  I  am  that  those  great  responsibilities  have  been 


POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

very  imperfectly  discharged,  I  cannot  feel  that  degree  of  self 
confidence  necessary  to  voluntarily  encounter  greater. 

I  have  felt  an  extreme,  perhaps  culpable  reluctance  to  ad- 
dress the  public  in  this  manner,  upon  this  subject.  My  many 
obligations  to  the  democratic  party  of  this  state  present,  how- 
over,  a  plain  and  sufficient  reason  for  this  discharge  of  a  man- 
ifest duty.  With  harmony  of  feeling  and  concert  of  action, 
the  success  of  that  party  in  the  pending  canvass,  is  not,  in  my 
judgment,  doubtful.  The  manner  in  which  the  national  nom- 
inations have  been  received  and  are  supported,  affords  the  most 
gratifying  evidence  that  any  state  candidates,  who  shall  re- 
ceive the  harmonious  nomination  of  the  state  convention,  will 
meet  with  an  equally  unanimous  and  warm  reception  from  the 
entire  democracy  of  the  state,  and  with  a  triumphant  election. 

To  promote  this  harmonious  and  successful  result  by  all 
honorable  means  in  my  power,  is  my  imperious  duty,  while  to 
permit  myself  to  become  the  instrument  of  interrupting  that 
harmony,  or  of  endangering  that  success,  would  be  unpardon- 
able ingratitude. 

This  communication  should  have  appeared  in  the  last  num- 
ber of  your  paper,  but  my  absence  for  several  days,  and  very 
pressing  calls  upon  my  time,  after  my  return,  prevented  my 
giving  the  proper  attention  to  this  subject,  until  it  was  too 
late  for  that  publication. 

SILAS  WRIGHT. 

CANTON,  August  1,  1844. 

The  above  letter,  as  originally  written,  signed,  and 
forwarded  from  Canton  to  Ogdensburgh,  did  not  contain 
the  words  in  the  seventh  paragraph — "Against  any 
republican  who  is  or  who  may  become  a  candidate."  It 
will  be  perceived  that  by  expunging  those  words,  the 
refusal  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  governor  was 
unconditional  and  peremptory.  The  letter,  before  its 
publication,  carne  into  the  hands  of  Judge  Fine,  who, 
after  consulting  the  Hon.  P.  King  and  other  confiden- 
tial friends,  proposed  the  alteration  which  would  render 


1844.]  LETTERS  OF  MR.   WRIGHT.  489 

the  refusal  conditional,  and  to  the  alteration  thus  pro- 
posed and  urgently  pressed  by  his  friends,  Mr.  Wright 
at  last  consented.* 


*  Since  writing  what  is  contained  in  the  text,  the  author  has  been  fa- 
vored with  two  original  letters,  written  by  Mr.  Wright  to  Judge  Fine  on 
the  subject  of  the  alteration  of  his  letter  to  the  St.  Lawrence  Republican. 
We  give  copies  of  both  of  them.  They  appear  to  have  been  written 
hastily.  The  first,  in  which  he  yields  his  consent  to  the  alteration  pro- 
posed by  Judge  Fine,  is  without  date  ;  but  it  must  have  been  written  be- 
fore that  dated  8th  of  August,  as  will  be  perceived  by  perusing  both  notes. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR  : — Your  two  notes  came  this  morning,  and  I  thank  you 
for  them.  Your  proposed  correction  of  the  article  is  important,  and  I  am 
glad  you  see  no  objection  to  it  thus  corrected.  My  position  now  is  made 
one  of  doubt,  as  masses  of  letters  written  to  me  show.  It  should  not  be 
that — and  I  think  I  should  go  as  far  as  I  can  go,  and  not  say  I  will 
not  accept  a  nomination  under  any  circumstances ;  I  would  be  most 
glad  to  say  that,  but  perhaps  I  have  no  right  to  go  so  far  ;  yet  I  think 
I  have  a  right  to  say,  that  I  will  not  be  thrown  into  the  position  of  seem- 
ing to  compete  for  the  nomination  against  any  candidate. 

"  I  return  Mr.  Page's  letter,  and  thank  you  for  its  perusal.  It  and  the 
letter  of  Judge  Willard  are  a  fair  exhibition  of  the  different  impressions 
and  judgments  which  honest  and  good  men  form  as  to  my  position,  and 
that  it  may  well  embarrass  me. 

"  In  haste,  I  am  truly  yours, 

"  SILAS  WRIGHT. 
"  Hon.  JOHN  FINE." 

1  CANTON,  8th  August,  1844. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR  : — I  received  the  paper  yesterday,  with  the  communi- 
cation, and  have  been  very  busy  for  the  last  two  days  in  replying  to  my 
numerous  letters  upon  that  embarrassing  subject,  making,  of  course,  the 
published  letter  the  answer  in  all  cases.  This  strife  between  personal  in- 
clination and  interest  and  public  duty,  disturbs  a  man's  judgment  and 
makes  him  a  very  unsafe  counsellor  for  himself.  At  such  times  it  is  that 
he  requires  frank,  faithful,  and  disinterested  friends  ;  and  I  really  do  not 
think  there  ever  was  a  man,  in  so  remote  a  location  from  the  great  cen- 
tre of  politics,  so  well  supplied  as  I  have  been  upon  this  occasion. 

"  To  you  I  owe  especial  thanks  for  the  ready  and  frank  manner  in 
which  you  have  manifested  your  willingness  to  devote  your  time  and  mind 
to  the  questions  presented,  and  to  give  me  your  opinion  without  reserve. 
(All  our  friends  about  you,  Messrs.  Perkins,  Gillet,  King,  and  Myers,  have 


190  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1814. 

It  was  represented  to  him  that  the  result  of  the  elec- 
tion in  New  York  would  decide,  as  in  fact  it  did  decide, 
the  fate  of  the  democratic  party  in  the  nation ;  that  un- 
less he  would  consent  to  be  a  candidate,  such  were  the 
peculiar  circumstances  then  existing,  that  the  election 
in  the  state  and  nation  would  inevitably  be  lost  to  the 
democratic  party  ;  and  that  with  the  use  of  his  name  no 
reasonable  doubt  of  a  successful  issue  could  be  enter- 
tained. These  considerations  wrung  from  him  a  reluc- 
tant consent. 

Let  us  here  pause  for  one  moment.  Mr.  Wright, 
from  motives  of  delicacy  to  his  friend,  which  few  can 
appreciate,  had  refused  to  be  a  candidate  in  the  conven- 
tion for  the  office  of  president.  He  had  declined  the 
appointment  of  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Uni- 
ted States ;  he  had  been  nominated  for  the  office  of 
vice-president,  and  declined  being  a  candidate,  prefer- 
ring a  seat  in  the  senate  to  a  station  which  is  next 
in  dignity  to  the  first  office  in  the  nation;  the  nom- 
ination of  Mr.  Polk,  the  man  individually  who  was  to 
derive  the  greatest  benefit  from  the  proposed  sacrifice, 
was  made  against  the  avowed  wishes  of  Mr.  Wright. 
Nothing  could  have  been  more  uncongenial  to  his  feel- 
ings than  the  office  of  governor  of  the  state  of  New 
York.  He  knew  it  would  plunge  him  into  the  vortex 

taken  the  same  generous  course,  as  I  doubt  not  Mr.  Judson  would  have 
done  had  he  been  at  home.  Will  you  assure  those  gentlemen  that  I  can- 
not too  sincerely  thank  them,  and  that  I  will  try  to  remember  the  obli- 
gation, though  I  may  never  be  able  to  repay  it.) 

"  How  the  public  may  appreciate  our  conclusions,  time  must  deter- 
mine. It  is  enough  for  us  that  our  motives  are  good,  and  that  we  acted 
as  we  thought  right,  under  all  circumstances. 

"  With  great  respect, 

"  I  am  truly  yours, 
•'  Hon.  JOHN  FINE."  ••  SILAS  WRIGHT. 


1844.J  MR.   WRIGHT   AND  MR.   BOUCK.  491 

of  "New  York  politics,  and  expose  him  to  the  jealousy  of 
both,  or  the  bitter  persecution  of  one  of  the  contending 
factions  which  prevailed  here.  A  seat  in  the  senate  of 
the  United  States  was  of  all  public  stations  the  most 
agreeable  to  him.  There  he  was  at  home.  There  he 
was  surrounded  by  friends  who  esteemed  and  admired — 
indeed,  who  more  than  admired,  who  loved  him.  That, 
he  well  knew,  was  a  theatre  for  which  his  talents  and 
habits  best  fitted  him  ;  it  was  truly  the  "  field  of  his  fame 
and  his  glory."  Yet  at  the  call  of  the  democratic  party 
he  did  leave  that  field  for  a  station  which  of  all  others 
he  most  disliked,  and  the  responsibilities  and  duties  of 
which  he  must  have  contemplated  with  apprehensions 
the  most  painful. 

We  doubt  whether  a  more  striking  instance  of  self- 
sacrifice  and  devotion  to  friends  can  be  found  in  ancient 
or  modern  political  history.  There  is  a  moral  beauty 
and  sublimity  in  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Wright  on  this  oc- 
casion, which,  considered  in  connection  with  his  course 
in  relation  to  the  action  of  the  Baltimore  Convention, 
rival  any  thing  exhibited  in  the  most  virtuous  days  of 
Greece  and  Rome.* 

The  following  propositions  seem  to  be  established ; 
and  if  so,  both  Mr.  Bouck  and  Mr.  Wright  conducted, 
in  relation  to  the  gubernatorial  election  in  1844,  with 
perfect  sincerity,  and  in  accordance  with  the  strictest 
principles  of  honor. 

1.  That  in  April  Mr.  Bouck  offered  to  withdraw  his 
name  if  Mr.  Wright  would  consent  to  be  a  candidate. 

2.  That  Mr.  Wright  peremptorily  refused. 

3.  That  notwithstanding  his  refusal,  the  papers  op- 

«  See  the  note  at  the  end  of  the  volume.— Mr.  Wright's  letter  to  Judge 


492  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844 

posed  to  the  nomination  of  Gov.  Bouck  continued  to 
press  that  of  Mr.  Wright. 

4.  That  after  the  national  convention  Mr.  Wright  re- 
fused to  be  a  candidate ;  and  so  late  as  August,  wrote  a 
letter,  intended  for  publication,  peremptorily  refusing  H 
nomination,  which,  at  the  pressing  solicitation  of  his  best 
and  truest  friends,  and  in  deference  to  their  opinion  that 
the  vital  interest  of  the  democratic  party  in  the  state 
and  nation  demanded  that  he  should  yield  a  compliance 
with  their  request,  was  so  modified  as  to  render  his  re- 
fusal conditional. 

5.  That  after  the  publication  of  this  letter,  Governor 
Bouck  desired  that  his  name  should  be  withdrawn,  but 
was  overruled  by  his  friends,  who  insisted  that  he  could 
not  honorably,  at  that  period,  abandon  the  competition. 

From  the  time  of  the  publication  of  Mr.  Wright's  let- 
ter of  the  1st  of  August,  the  tide  of  public  opinion  rapid- 
ly increased  in  favor  of  his  nomination  for  governor : 
and  in  many  of  the  county  conventions  held  to  choose 
delegates  for  the  Syracuse  Convention,  the  delegates 
elected  were  instructed  to  support  him  as  the  candidate 
for  governor.  That  convention  was  held  on  the  4th  of 
September,  and  the  various  counties  in  the  state  were 
fully  represented  in  it. 

Mr.  Heman  J.  Redfield,  of  Genesee,  a  hunker,  was, 
it  is  said,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Wright,  unanimously 
elected  president,  and  Judge  Denio,  of  Oneida,  and  Gen. 
Lawyer,  of  Schoharie,  with  six  others,  were  chosen  vice- 
presidents.  Governor  Bouck  had  instructed  a  judicious 
friend,  who  was  a  delegate,  to  withdraw  his  name  from 
competition  if  he  should  think  proper ;  and  as  it  was 
soon  ascertained  that  a  large  majority  of  the  delegates 
were  for  nominating  Mr.  Wright,  the  personal  friends 


1844.]  DEMOCRATIC  STATE  CONVENTION.  493 

of  that  gentleman  urged  that  the  name  of  Gov.  Bouck 
should  be  withdrawn,  they  having,  as  was  supposed,  rea- 
son to  believe  that  Mr.  Wright  would  be  dissatisfied  if 
his  name  should  be  used  in  opposition  to  "  any  republi- 
can." But  the  delegate  to  whom  Gov.  Bouck  had 
given  this  discretionary  authority,  upon  consulting  with 
the  other  friends  ef  Mr.  B.,  was  advised  against  with- 
drawing his  name.  The  convention  therefore  proceed- 
ed to  a  ballot,  which  resulted  in  95  votes  for  Wright 
and  30  for  Bouck  ;  whereupon  Mr.  Seymour,  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  and  zealous  friends  of  the  renomina- 
tion  of  Gov.  Bouck,  moved  that  the  nomination  of  Mr. 
Wright  should  be  declared  unanimous,  and  the  resolu- 
tion was  adopted  without  a  dissenting  vote. 

Mr.  Wright  had  expressed  a  wish  that  in  case  of  his 
own  nomination,  Mr.  D.  S.  Dickinson  should  be  nomina- 
ted for  re-election  as  lieutenant-governor ;  but  he  pe- 
remptorily refused  to  be  a  candidate,  whereupon  ADDISON 
GARDINER,  late  circuit  judge  of  the  eighth  circuit,  was 
unanimously  nominated. 

BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLER  and  DANIEL  S.  DICKINSON  were 
nominated  state  presidential  electors,  and  a  list  of  elec- 
tors from  the  several  congressional  districts  was  also  put 
in  nomination.  Jonas  Earl,  Jr.,  Daniel  P.  Bissell,  Na- 
thaniel Jarvis,  and  Stephen  Clark,  were  nominated  canal 
commissioners.  By  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  con- 
vention, they  denounced  a  high  tariff,  a  national  bank, 
the  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  public 
lands.  &c.,  and  they  approved  the  resolutions  adopted 
by  the  Baltimore  Convention.  They  do  not  allude  to 
the  annexation  of  Texas,  other  than  by  expressing  their 
approbation  of  the  principles  put  forth  by  the  Baltimore 
Convention.  They  probably  designedly  avoided  any 


494  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841. 

express  allusion  to  that  "great  American  measure,"  be- 
cause, among  other  reasons,  their  candidate  for  governor 
had  voted  against  the  Texas  treaty  in  the  senate,  and 
since  his  return  from  Washington,  and  since  the  Balti- 
more Convention,  had  declared  in  a  speech  delivered  at 
Watertown  to  a  mass  meeting,  that  he  was  opposed  to 
annexation.  The  convention  closed  their  resolutions  with 
one  of  thanks  to  Gov.  Bouck  and  Lieutenant-governor 
Dickinson,  "  for  their  faithful  administration  of  the  vari- 
ous and  responsible  duties  committed  to  their  charge." 

The  convention  dissolved  in  great  harmony,  and  with 
high  hopes  of  success.  Its  result  undoubtedly  gave  the 
friends  of  Polk  new  confidence  in  the  state  and  nation. 
In  the  intense  interest  excited  by  the  presidential  con- 
test, the  divisions  in  the  democratic  ranks  were  lost  sight 
of,  if  they  were  not  healed  up.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
allude  to  that  contest  in  this  connection,  except  to  say 
that  Gov.  Wright  was  faithfully  supported  by  the  friends 
of  Gov.  Bouck.  The  contrary  has  never  been  intima- 
ted. In  the  county  of  Oneida,  where  Mr.  Bouck's  friends 
were  in  the  ascendant,  and  where  some  of  those  who 
had  advocated  Mr.  Wright's  nomination,  were  opposing 
a  part  of  the  local  ticket,  he  received  a  higher  vote  than 
any  candidate  on  the  ticket.  This  was  the  more  re- 
markable, as  a  long  section  of  the  unfinished  Black 
River  Canal  passed  through  the  democratic  section  of 
the  county,  and  the  inhabitants  were  very  much  exas- 
perated by  the  suspension  of  its  construction. 

The  whig  state  convention  was  held  on  the  llth  day 
of  September,  at  Syracuse.  There  was  a  very  full 
attendance  of  delegates.  Francis  Granger,  the  late 
postmaster-general,  was  chosen  president.  MILLARD 
FILLMORE,  of  Buffalo,  was  nominated  for  governor,  and 


1844.]  WHIG  STATE  CONVENTION.  49f> 

SAMUEL  J.  WILKIN,  of  Orange  county,  for  lieutenant- 
governor.  These  nominations,  and  indeed  the  nomina- 
tions of  all  the  other  candidates,  were  made  apparently 
with  perfect  unanimity,  and  without  a  ballot.  This 
circumstance  leads  to  the  inference  that  an  informal 
meeting  of  the  delegates  must  have  been  previously 
held,  in  which  a  free  interchange  of  sentiments  had 
taken  place  between  them.  Of  Mr.  Fillmore  we  have 
spoken  in  another  place ;  but  we  cannot  omit  to  avail 
ourselves  of  the  present  occasion  to  express  our  high 
respect  for  the  talents,  integrity,  and  personal  merit  of 
Mr.  Wilkin.  All  who  know  him  (and  the  author  has 
known  him  from  his  early  youth)  we  are  sure  will  con- 
cur with  us  in  the  exalted  opinion  we  entertain  of  his 
talents  and  merit. 

The  convention  also  nominated  presidential  electors. 
The  state  electors  whom  they  designated  were  Willis 
Hall  and  John  A.  Collier.  They  terminated  their  labors 
by  nominating  Samuel  Works,  Spencer  Kellogg,  Elijah 
Rhoades,  and  Joseph  H.  Jackson,  canal  commissioners. 

The  nomination  of  Henry  Clay  for  president  was  ap- 
proved, and  reiterated  with  acclamations;  and  an  address 
to  the  electors  and  a  series  of  resolutions  were  adopted 
and  published.  One  of  the  resolutions  expresses  a  deci- 
ded approval  of  the  tariff  as  it  then  was,  and  another 
condemns  and  denounces  the  annexation  of  Texas  as  un- 
constitutional, and  as  a  project  which,  in  the  judgment  of 
the  convention,  would  be  followed  by  consequences  deep- 
ly injurious  to  the  country,  and  dangerous  to  the  Union. 

Never  was  an  electioneering  campaign  conducted  with 
more  spirit  and  ^nergy  than  that  of  1844.  Both  parties 
entered  the  field  well  organized,  and  animated  with  high 
hopes.  The  recollection  of  their  success  in  1840  in- 


496  POLITFCAL  HISTORY  of  NF.VV  YORK.  [1844. 

spired  the  whigs  with  courage ;  while  a  bitter  feeling  of 
resentment  for  what  they  deemed  the  treachery  of  Mr. 
Tyler,  which  had  snatched  from  them  the  fruits  of  their 
victory  at  the  last  presidential  election,  and  their  ardent 
attachment  to  their  chivalric  and  gallant  leader,  kindled 
a  zeal  which  spread  through  all  ranks  of  the  party, 
which  approached  almost  to  fanaticism.  Indeed,  there 
are  some  traits  in  Mr.  Clay's  character  eminently  calcu- 
lated to  excite  in  his  supporters  a  species  of  enthusiasm. 
The  ardor  of  his  feelings,  his  open,  frank,  and  gallant 
bearing  towards  friends  and  foes,  and  his  unsurpassed 
eloquence,  have,  as  has  already  been  remarked,  procured 
him  a  greater  number  of  devoted  and  ardent  personal 
friends  than  any  other  man  in  the  Union. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  democratic  party  felt  that  their 
all  was  at  stake.  The  radicals  had  succeeded  in  procu- 
ring the  nomination  of  Ntheir  most  favorite  candidate  for 
governor ;  and  the  hunkers  having  left  the  Syracuse  con- 
vention, if  not  with  kind  feelings  towards  the  radicals, 
at  least  in  good  temper,  and  with  sentiments  of  esteem 
and  regard  for  Mr.  Wright,  seemed  anxious  to  prove  to 
the  radicals,  by  more  than  usual  efforts,  that  they  were 
not  governed  by  factious  motives,  but  would  exert  all 
their  energies  in  support  of  the  common  cause.  Mr. 
Van  Buren,  too,  had  in  several  communications  which 
were  published,  declared  his  acquiescence  in  the  nom- 
ination of  Mr.  Polk,  and  his  determination  to  support 
him. 

Immensely  large  mass  meetings  were  held  by  the  re- 
spective parties  in  all  the  large  towns,  and  in  almost 
every  county  in  the  state.  These  meetings  were  ad- 
dressed by  the  most  eminent  orators  in  the  state,  and 
sometimes  by  distinguished  statesmen  from  abroad. 


1844.]  MASS    MEETINGS.  497 

Mr.  Wright,  before  he  became  the  gubernatorial  can- 
didate, Lieutenant-governor  Dickinson,  and  many  other 
eminent  democrats,  attended  the  mass  meetings,  and 
addressed  the  people.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Webster, 
Mr.  Collier,  and  other  able  and  talented  men,  attended 
and  addressed  large  masses  of  whigs.  We  have,  on  a 
former  occasion,  expressed  our  doubts  whether  these 
gatherings  ought  to  be  encouraged  ;*  but  whether 
those  doubts  were  well  or  ill  founded,  it  is  very  certain 
that  great  tact  and  skill,  and  ability  in  reasoning,  and 
many  specimens  of  splendid  and  thrilling  eloquence 
were  exhibited  on  these  occasions.  Besides  the  politi- 
cians and  statesmen  holding  the  high  position  of  those 
we  have  mentioned,  several  young  men,  not  before 
known  in  political  life,  devoted  much  of  their  time  in 
attendance  on  the  mass  meetings,  and  delivered  ad- 
dresses with  great  effect,  accompanied  with  all  the  charms 
and  power  of  eloquence.  Among  the  most  distinguished 
of  these  was  JOHN  W.  FOWLER  on  the  whig  side,  and 
Gansevoort  Melville  and  James  W.  Nye  on  the  dem- 
ocratic. 

But  in  the  progress  of  the  campaign,  both  parties  were 
compelled  to  encounter  some  serious  and  embarrassing 
difficulties. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  ostensible,  and  perhaps 
the  real  cause  of  the  preference  given  by  the  Baltimore 
Convention  to  Mr.  Polk  over  Mr.  Van  Buren,  was  that 
the  former  was  in  favor  of  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and 
the  latter  was  opposed  to  it,  and  that  that^  convention 
adopted  a  resolution  that  the  Texan  nation  ought  imme- 
diately to  be  annexed  to  the  United  States.  Besides 


2  Political  History,  p.  527. 
32 


498  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1841 

those  distinguished  men,  Van  Buren  and  Wright,  who 
were  publicly  committed  against  that  project,  which 
the  Baltimore  Convention  was  pleased  to  denominate 
"a  great  American  measure,"  there  were  many  other 
influential  and  worthy  republicans  who  entirely  concur- 
red with  those  gentlemen  in  opinion,  and  who  could  m-i 
perceive  why  a  simple  resolution  adopted  by  the  indi- 
viduals assembled  at  Baltimore  should  change  the  merits 
or  the  character  of  the  question.  The  masses  of  the 
democratic  party  also,  though  they  desired  an  bxtension 
of  the  national  territory,  did  not  view  with  favor  the  ex- 
tension of  slavery  ;  and  many  of  them  believed  that  the. 
annexation  of  Texas  would  not  only  "  diffuse,"  but  in- 
crease slavery. 

In  this  state  of  the  question  some  highly  respectable 
arid  influential  democratic  citizens  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  in  connection  with  the  then  attorney-general,  who 
were  opposed  to  annexation,  but  who  yet  were  extreme- 
ly solicitous  for  the  election  of  Mr.  Polk  in  preference 
to  Mr.  Clay,  knowing  that  the  question  whether  Texas 
^should  be  annexed  must  be  decided  by  congress,  con- 
cocted a  scheme  of  procuring  a  united,  but  silent,  quiet 
action  of  the  anti-annexationists  in  the  state,  in  the  se- 
lection and  election  of  members  of  congress  who  accord- 
ed with  them  in  sentiments ;  while  at  the  same  time  they 
desired  that  the  most  vigorous  efforts  should  be  made  to 
promote  the  success  of  the  democratic  electoral  ticket 
for  president.*  In  execution  of  this  project  they  ad- 
dressed a  circular  letter  to  several  individuals,  located 
in  different  parts  of  the  state,  who,  they  had  reason  to 

*  They  also  proposed  that  they,  together  with  the  persons  to  whom 
they  forwarded  these  views,  should  jointly  address  the  people,  declaring 
their  reasons  for  supporting  Mr.  Polk,  while  they  opposed  annexation. 


1844.]  THE  SECRET  CIRCULAR.  490 

believe,  entertained  opinions  similar  to  their  own  on  the 
subject  of  annexation.  As  this  letter  has  been  the  sub- 
ject of  much,  and  in  some  instances  severe  newspaper 
animadversions,  a  copy  of  it  is  here  inserted. 

CONFIDENTIAL. 

SIR — You  will  doubtless  agree  with  us,  that  the  late  Balti- 
more Convention  placed  the  democratic  party  at  the  North 
in  a  position  of  great  difficulty.  We  are  constantly  reminded 
that  it  rejected  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  nominated  Mr.  Polk,  for 
reasons  connected  with  the  immediate  annexation  of  Texas — 
reasons  which  had  no  relation  to  the  principles  of  the  party. 
Nor  was  that  all.  The  convention  went  beyond  the  authority 
delegated  to  its  members,  and  adopted  a  resolution  on  the 
subject  of  Texas,  (a  subject  not  before  the  country  when  they 
were  elected,  upon  which,  therefore,  they  were  not  instructed,) 
which  seeks  to  interpolate  into  the  party  code  a  new  doctrine, 
hitherto  unknown  among  us,  at  war  with  some  of  our  estab- 
lished principles,  and  abhorrent  to  the  opinions  and  feelings  of 
a  great  majority  of  northern  freemen. 

In  this  position,  what  was  the  party  at  the  North  to  do  ? 
Was  it  to  reject  the  nominations  and  abandon  the  contest,  or 
should  it  support  the  nominations,  rejecting  the  untenable  doc- 
trine interpolated  at  the  convention,  and  taking  care  that  their 
support  should  be  accompanied  with  such  an  expression  of 
their  opinion  as  to  prevent  its  being  misinterpreted  ?  The  lat- 
ter alternative  has  been  preferred,  and  we  think  wisely  ;  for 
we  conceive  that  a  proper  expression  of  their  opinion  will  save 
their  votes  from  misconstruction,  and  that  proper  efforts  will 
secure  the  nomination  of  such  members  of  congress  as  will  re- 
ject the  unwarrantable  scheme  now  pressed  upon  the  country7. 

With  these  views,  assuming  that  you  feel  on  this  subject  as 
we  do,  we  have  been  desired  to  address  you,  and  to  invite  the 
co-operation  of  yourself  and  other  friends  throughout  the  state — : 

1st.  In  the  publication  of  a  joint  letter,  declaring  our  pur- 
pose to  support  the  nominations,  rejecting  the  resolutions  re- 
specting Te 


">00  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

2d.  In  promoting  and  supporting,  at  the  next  election,  the 
nomination  for  congress  of  such  persons  as  concur  in  these 
opinions. 

If  your  views  in  this  matter  coincide  with  ours,  please  write 
to  some  one  of  us,  and  a  draft  of  the  proposed  letter  will  be 
forwarded  for  examination. 

Very  respectfully, 

GEORGE  P.  BAKKER,  WILLIAM  C.  BRYANT, 

J.  W.  EDMONDS,  DAVID  DUDLEY  FIELD, 

THEODORE  SEDGWICK,  THOMAS  W.  TUCKER, 

ISAAC  TOWNSEND. 

P.  8. — A  copy  of  this  circular  has  been  sent  to  the  follow- 
ing gentlemen : — Michael  Hoffman,  Albert  H.  Tracy,  Hiram 
Gardiner,  Addison  Gardiner,  Samuel  Selden,  Henry  Selden, 
Ashley  Sampson,  J.  Osborn,  Hiram  Gray,  Jared  N.  Wilson, 
James  M.  Smith,  Thos.  G.  Talcot,  William  Allen,  Freeborn  G. 
Jewett,' Daniel  Chandler,  Hiram  Denio,  John  Tracy,  Jabez  D. 
Hammond,  John  1.  De  Graff,  N.  S.  Benton,  Preston  King, 
Ransom  Gillet,  Samuel  Young,  L.  Stetson,  James  B.  Spencer, 
David  L.  Seymour,  David  Buel,  Harmanus  Bleecker,  A.  C. 
Flaprg,  Robert  McLellan,  R.  D.  Davis,  James  Powers,  Archi- 
bald Niven,  Nathaniel  Jones,  John  W.  Lawrence — and  will  be 
sent  to  any  other  person  you  may  wish. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  letter  was  marked  "  confi- 
dential," and  it  has  therefore  been  denominated  the  "  se- 
cret circular."  We  do  not  know  what  were  the  motives 
which  induced  the  signers  of  this  communication  to 
mark  it  confidential,  but  we  believed  then,  as  we  do 
now,  that  their  object  was  to  prevent  any  agitation  of 
the  public  mind  on  the  subject,  and  thereby  weaken 
the  democratic  strength  by  the  appearance  of  a  division 
in  the  party,  unless  the  persons  to  whom  it  was  ad- 
dressed should  advise  the  adoption  of  the  measure  pro- 
jected. It  would  seem  that  a  majority  of  those  persons 
did  not  think  the  execution  of  the  proposed  plan  advisa- 


1844.]  THE  SECRET  CIRCULAR.  501 

ble,  for  the  joint  letter  was  never  issued  ;  but  that  which 
was  intended  to  be  signed  and  circulated,  was  after- 
wards published  by  Mr.  Bryant  in  the  Evening  Post. 
It  merely  contained  the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  cir- 
cular, more  fully  developed.  It  is,  perhaps,  proper  for 
the  author  to  state,  that  he  informed  the  gentlemen 
whose  name£  were  attached  to  the  circular  that  he  cor- 
dially agreed  with  them  in  their  opposition  to  the  annex- 
ation of  Texas,  and  would  not  withhold  his  name  from 
a  written  statement  expressing  that  opposition  ;  but  he 
advised  against  the  publication  of  the  joint  letter,  be- 
cause it  seemed  to  him  inconsistent  to  condemn  a  meas- 
ure, and  yet  support  the  man  who  was  nominated  as  a 
candidate  for  the  first  office  in  the  nation  solely  for  the 
avowed  reason  that  he  was  in  favor  of  that  very  measure. 

We  will  only  add,  that  we  have  reason  to  believe  that 
all  the  signers  of  the  circular,  and  all  the  persons  to 
whom  it  was  addressed,  (we  know  most  of  them  did,) 
supported  with  zeal  and  energy  the  election  of  Mr.  Polk, 
with  the  exception  of  a  single  individual.  That  indi- 
vidual was  Jabez  D.  Hammond,  who  declined  voting  at 
all  for  presidential  electors. 

But  although  the  signers  of  the  circular,  and  those  to 
whom  it  was  addressed,  generally  supported  Mr.  Polk 
in  good  faith,  there  were  many  among  the  masses  who 
felt  great  difficulty  in  voting  for  the  nominee  of  a  con- 
vention who  had  declared  the  annexation  of  Texas  to 
be  a  great  American  measure.  The  whigs,  therefore, 
not  without  reason,  cherished  the  hope  that  many  of 
these  conscientious  men  would  vote  for  Mr.  Clay  ;  but 
this  Mr.  Clay,  by  his  own  indiscreet  conduct,  to  use  the 
mildest  term,  in  a  great  degree,  if  not  wholly,  prevented. 
Before  Mr.  Van  Buren's  letter  to  Mr.  Hammit  was 


502  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1844. 

published,  Mr.  Clay  had  published  a  letter,  in  which  he 
stated— 

"  I  consider  the  annexation  of  Texas,  at  this  time, 
without  the  assent  of  Mexico,  as  a  measure  compromi- 
sing the  national  character,  involving  us  certainly  in 
war  with  Mexico,  probably  with  other  foreign  powers, 
dangerous  to  the  integrity  of  the  Union,  inexpedient  in 
the  present  financial  condition  of  the  country,  and  not 
called  for  by  any  general  expression  of  public  opinion." 

Had  Mr.  Clay  rested  on  this  frank  and  explicit  decla- 
ration, we  verily  believe  he  would  have  received  the 
vote  of  the  state  of  New  York  for  president ;  but  the 
whole  slaveholding  interest  at  the  South,  as  well  whig 
as  democratic,  was  anxiously  solicitous  that  Texas 
should  be  made  a  part  of  the  Union,  and  no  doubt  many 
of  his  most  ardent  political  and  personal  friends  in  that 
section  of  the  Union  were  continually  pressing  him  to 
vary  his  position  in  relation  to  the  Texas  question.  Mr. 
Clay  was  desirous  to  secure  all  the  whig  votes.  In  an 
evil  hour,  (on  the  1st  dayxof  July,)  in  a  communication 
to  one  of  his  friendly  correspondents  in  Alabama,  a 
state  in  which  he  never  did  and  never  will  receive 
a  vote,  he  stated, — "As  to  the  idea  of  courting  the 
abolitionists,  it  is  perfectly  absurd.  No  man  in  the 
United  States  has  been  half  as  much  abused  by  them  as 
I  have  been."  *  *  *  "  Personally  I  could  have  no 
objection  to  the  annexation  of  Texas,  but,"  &c.  He  af- 
terwards wrote  a  third  letter,  in  which  he  attempted  to 
show  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  no  inconsistency  in  the 
sentiments  expressed  in  these  two  letters  ;  but  this  last 
epistle  did  not  better  his  position.  In  consequence  ol 
these  letters,  Mr.  Clay,  though  he  had  many  personal 
friends  in  this  state,  received  but  very  few,  if  any,  dem- 


1844.]         NATIVE  AMERICANS  AND   ANTI-RENTERS.  503 

ocratic  votes  here.  Those  democrats  who  thought  it 
wrong  to  vote  for  Mr.  Polk,  on  account  of  the  Texas 
question,  either  declined  voting  for  presidential  electors, 
or  voted  the  abolition  ticket. 

The  Native  Americans  in  the  city  of  New  York  and 
in  the  county  of  Kings,  so  far  as  related  to  the  election 
of  members  of  assembly,  congress,  and  tl^e  senate,  sus- 
tained the  organization  they  had  formed  in  the  prece- 
ding spring  at  the  charter  elections  ;  but  by  mutual  con- 
sent among  them  it  was  understood  that  in  relation  to 
the  presidential  and  gubernatorial  election,  each  mem- 
ber of  the  native  association  should  vote  according  to 
his  own  predilections  as  respected  the  two  great  con- 
tending parties  in  the  state.  The  result  was,  that  their 
candidates  for  the  assembly,  senate,  and  a  majority  of 
the  members  of  congress  from  the  city  of  New  York, 
were  elected.  By  means  of  this  success,  WILLIAM  W. 
CAMPBELL,  the  author  of  the  "  Annals  of  Tryon  County," 
a  man  of  great  worth  and  merit,  was  elected  to  congress, 
and  GEORGE  FOLSOM,  a  gentleman  distinguished  for  his 
literary  attainments,  and  much  respected  for  his  private 
virtues,  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  senate  of  this  state. 

The  Anti-renters  pursued  a  very  politic  and  wise 
course.  In  counties  where  they  were  uncertain  whether 
they  had  a  plurality  of  votes  over  both  the  whig  and 
democratic  parties,  they  selected  such  of  the  candidates 
nominated  by  either  of  those  parties  as  they  had  rea- 
son to  believe  would  be  most  favorable  to  their  views, 
and  gave  the  persons  thus  selected  every  anti-rent  vote. 
By  this  course  of  policy  they,  holding  as  they  did  the 
balance  of  power,  controlled  the  election  in  Albany,  Co- 
lumbia, Delaware,  Greene,  Rensselaer,  Schoharie,  and 
Sullivan  counties,  and  brought  into  the  assembly  from 


504  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1844. 

those  counties  such  men  as  favored  and  supported  their 
views,  so  far  as  they  could  be  supported  consistent  with 
the  constitution  of  this  state  and  of  the  United  States. 
Two  of  the  most  efficient  and  able  members  of  the  as- 
sembly of  1845  were  brought  into  that  assembly  by 
means  of  the  votes  of  the  anti-renters.  We  allude  to 
Ira  Harris,  of  Albany  county,  and  Wm.  H.  Van  Schoon- 
hoven,  of  Rensselaer  county. 

The  ABOLITION/  or  LIBERTY  PARTY,  adhered  resolute- 
ly to  their  "  one  idea,"  and  refused  all  compromise.  It 
was  well  known  that  they  held  the  power,  beyond  all 
question,  (which  was  proved  by  the  result  of  the  elec- 
tion,) of  giving  Mr.  Clay  the  votes  of  this  state,  and  thus 
preventing  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  the  extension 
of  slavery,  which  every  one  foresaw  must  be  the  conse- 
quence of  annexation.  The  whigs,  therefore,  continued 
to  believe,  until  after  the  votes  were  actually  canvassed, 
that  inasmuch  as  no  man  believed  that  this  party  could 
elect  Mr.  Birney,  a  majority  of  them  would  eventually 
cast  their  votes  for  Mr.  Clay.  In  this  expectation  they 
were  disappointed.  Not  an  individual  of  the  aboli- 
tionists voted  for  Mr.  Clay.  They  argued  that  if  the 
whigs  were  sincere  in  their  opposition  to  annexation, 
they  ought  to  vote  for  Mr.  Birney,  who  had  never 
equivocated  in  relation  to  that  question.  "  Why,"  said 
they,  "  have  we  not  as  good  right  to  require  you  to  vote 
for  Mr.  Birney  as  you  have  to  demand  our  votes  for  Mr. 
Clay  ?"  It  is  difficult  in  theory  to  resist  the  force  of 
this  reasoning.  But  the  actual  consequence  was,  that 
although  the  abolitionists  had  a  greater  numerical  force, 
and  probably  possessed  more  wealth  and  more  talent 
than  either  the  Anti-renters  or  Native  Americans,  while 
those  last-mentioned  parties,  by  their  management,  were 


1844.]         RESULT  OP  THE  ELECTION.  505 

ably  represented,  both  in  the  national  and  state  legisla- 
tures, the  Liberty  Party  did  not  elect  a  solitary  individ- 
ual to  represent  their  views  in  either  of  those  bodies. 

This  great  contest  eventuated  in  the  triumph  of  the 
democratic  party  in  the  state  and  nation.  Mr.  Polk  ob- 
tained, by  means  of  the  thirty- six  votes  given  by  New 
York,  sixty-six  electoral  votes  more  than  Mr.  Clay. 
Mr.  Wright's  majority  over  Mr.  Fillmore  was  10,033  ; 
and  the  majority  for  the  democratic  candidate  for  lieu- 
tenant-governor and  canal  commissioners  was  between 
nine  and  ten  thousand ;  while  the  majority  on  the  elec- 
toral ticket  over  that  for  Mr.  Clay,  was  less\than  five 
thousand.  In  the  city  of  New  York  Mr.  Wright  ob- 
tained a  majority  of  3,386  over  Mr.  Fillmore,  the  favorite 
of  the  whigs  of  that  city,  while  Mr.  Polk's  majority  was 
only  1,734.  This  disparity  must  have  been  produced 
by  a  difference  of  opinion  in  respect  to  that  "great 
American  measure,"  the  annexation  of  Texas. 

The  Native  Americans  succeeded  in  electing  Mr. 
Folsom  to  the  senate  in  the  first  district,  while  the  demo- 
crats elected  their  candidates  in  all  the  other  districts  in 
the  state,  except  the  eighth.  The  names  of  the  senators 
elected  were — George  Folsom,  from  the  first  district,  in 
the  place  of  Mr.  Scott ;  Robert  Dennison  was  re-elected 
from  the  second  district ;  John  P.  Beekman  was  chosen 
from  the  third  district,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Strong  ;  Au- 
gustus C.  Hand,  from  the  fourth,  in  the  place  of  Mr. 
Lawrence  ;  Enoch  B.  Talcott,  from  the  fifth,  in  the 
place  of  Mr.  Foster ;  George  D.  Beers,  from  the  sixth, 
in  the  place  of  Mr.  Platt ;  Henry  J.  Sedgwick,  from  the 
seventh,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Rhoades  ;  and  Carlos  Em- 
rnons,  from  the  eighth,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Works. 

To  the  assembly  seventy  democrats   and  forty-four 


506  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.   ' 

whigs  were  elected,  the  rest  being  Native  Americans  and 
anti-renters ;  but  several  members,  who  were  denom- 
inated whigs  or  democrats,  according  to  the  parties  to 
which  they  respectively  were  reputed  to  belong,  were 
elected  by  the  balance-power  of  the  anti-renters,  and  on 
all  questions  affecting  the  interest  of  that  party  voted 
with  the  anti-renters. 

Our  sagacious  radical  correspondent  from  Albany, 
from  whom  we  have  before  several  times  quoted,  says: 
"  When  the  result  of  the  election  was  known,  the  radi- 
cals were  in  an  excess  of  joy.  Mr.  Polk  was  thought 
to  be  a  sincere  friend  of  the  sub-treasury,  opposed  to  a 
United  States  bank  and  a  national  debt,  and  in  favor  of 
a  revenue  tariff.  Mr.  Wright  was  all  that  the  demo- 
cratic heart  could  wish,,  love,  admire,  and  almost  wor- 
ship. But  here  his  errors  of  policy  commenced.  His 
first  efforts  were  to  conciliate  the  Bou6k  men."  If  this 
effort  at  conciliation  was,  as  our  correspondent  thinks, 
a  political  error  in  Gov.  Wright,  it  was  one  which 
every  man,  situated  as  he  was,  would  have  been  likely 
to  commit.  Gov.  Wright  had  not  personally  mingled 
much  with  the  Albany  politicians  for  several  years. 
He  knew  that  the  hunkers  had  been  defeated  at  the  Sy- 
racuse convention,  but  he  also  knew  that  in  the  tremen- 
dous conflict  from  which  the  democratic  party  had  just 
emerged,  the  hunkers  had  fought  side  by  side  with  the 
radicals,  and  with  equal  sincerity  and  zeal,  and  he  found 
among  them  many  of  his  old  personal  and  political 
friends.  He  believed  that  the  heart-burnings  and  enmity 
which  had  prevailed  between  the  two  sections  at  the 
time  of  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  had  been 
quieted  and  forgotten  in  the  life-and-death  struggle  be- 
tween the  two  great  parties  which  had  recently  terrni- 


1844.]  ERROR  OF  MR.   WRIGHT.  507 

nated.  Was  it  then  wonderful  that  he  should  make  an 
effort  to  restore  peace  between  those  who  ought  to  be 
friends  ?  But  he'was  not  aware  of  the  deep-seated  bit- 
terness that  still  rankled  in  the  breasts  of  many  belong- 
ing to  each  section.  Gov.  Wright,  when  he  came  to 
Albany,  shortly  alter  the  election  in  November,  became 
a  temporary  guest  of  Mr.  Erastus  Corning,  who,  we 
have  seen,  was  a  leading  and  influential  hunker ;  and  so 
jealous  were  the  politicians  of  that  period,  that  many 
radicals  viewed  that  circumstance,  trifling  as  it  was,  with 
suspicion. 

We  are  inclined  to  think  that  our  correspondent,  con- 
sidering the  real  state  of  things — of  which,  by  the  way, 
Mr.  Wright  could  not  have  been  apprized — is  in  the 
right,  and  that  the  effort  at  conciliation  was  in  vain,  and 
therefore  impolitic.  It  may  have  been  that  such  was 
the  fixed  and  settled  hostility  between  the  hunkers  and 
radicals  that  the  time  for  a  temporizing  policy  had  pass- 
ed, and  that  Gov.  Wright  should  either  have  said  to  the 
radicals,  that,  if  they  were  his  friends,  they  must  cease 
their  hostility  to  the  hunkers — that  he  should  regard 
any  attempt,  either  by  oral  or  printed  declarations,  to 
impair  their  political  standing,  as  an  act  of  war  against 
himself;  or  that  he  should  have  taken  open  and  decided 
ground  in  favor  of  the  radicals,  as  his  only  legitimate 
political  friends,  and  denounced  the  hunkers.  But  our 
correspondent  points  out  one  political  error  of  Mr. 
Wright  in  which  we  entirely  concur  with  him. 

Mr.  Wright  was  a  senator  of  the  United  States,  and 
had  a  right  to  retain  his  seat  until  the  first  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1845.  He  should  have  retained  it,  and  gone  to 
Washington  at  the  meeting  of  congress  on  the  first 
Monday  in  December.  His  great  popularity  in  the  na- 


508  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  L1844. 

tion,  the  important  and  decisive  services  which  had  been 
rendered  by  the  use  of  his  name  and  influence  in  the 
late  presidential  election,  and  the  numerous  ardent  and 
••f'ul  friends  he  would  have  met  at  Washington, 
would  have  enabled  him  to  exercise  a  controlling  in- 
fluence in  the  formation  of  Mr.  Folk's  cabinet.  In- 
stead of  this,  he  made  up  his  mind  not  to  resume  his 
seat  in  the  senate,  nor  visit  Washington,  before  he  would 
be  required  to  assume  the  administration  of  the  govern- 
ment of  this  state.  "  He  ought,"  says  our  correspond- 
ent, "  to  have  gone  to  Washington,  and  remained  there 
till  •  Christmas.  No  man's  presence  there  could  have 
been  more  useful  to  the  democracy.  Instead  of  this,  he 
came  to  Albany,  where  he  immediately  called  on  Gov. 
Bouck.  The  latter,  in  the  course  of  conversation,  men- 
tioned that  he  had  received  the  resignation  of  the  Hon. 
N.  P.  Tallmadge,  who  had  recently  been  appointed  by 
the  president  governor  of  Wisconsin.  Mr.  Wright  re- 
marked that  there  would  be  nothing  of  general  interest 
to  require  a  senator  in  Washington  until  after  the  meet- 
ing of  the  legislature.  .  Gov.  Bouck  observed  that  he 
thought  the  public  interest  required  him  to  appoint  one. 
Mr.  Wright  then  said,  '  If  you  think  so,  governor,  I  must 
resign,  for  I  do  not  intend  to  go  to  Washington.'  Gov. 
Wright  thereupon  went  to  the  comptroller's  office,  and 
wrote  his  resignation,  which  was  immediately  delivered 
to  Gov.  Bouck.  This,"  continues  our  correspondent, 
"was  a  most  fatal  error." 

Previous  to  the  resignation  of  Gov.  Wright,  Lieuten- 
ant-governor Dickinson  and  the  late  state  senator,  Mr. 
"Foster,  were  applicants  for  Mr.  Tallmadge's  place. 
The  competition  for  the  appointment  was  quite  ardent, 
and  so  much  so  that  they  mutually  assailed  each  other 


1844.]  APPOINTMENT  OF  V.  S.  SENATORS.  509 

This  controversy  was  extremely  painful  to  Mr.  Bouck. 
Both  the  competitors  had  been  his  steady,  uniform,  and 
efficient  friends,  and  he  finally  concluded  that  he  would 
not  appoint  either  of  them  in  preference  to  the  other. 
Even  after  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Wright  was  received, 
Gov.  Bouck  tendered  the  appointment  to  Gov.  Marcy, 
but  he  declined  accepting  it.  Had  he  accepted,  it  is 
probable  the  governor  would  have  appointed  Heman  J. 
Redfield  for  his  colleague.  The  non-acceptance  of  Mr. 
Marcy  resulted  in  the  appointment  of  the  two  rival  ap- 
plicants, which  happily  extinguished  the  growing  hos- 
tility between  them. 


510  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Condition  of  the  Democratic  Party  at  the  commencement  of  the  year  1845 
— Contest  about  the  nomination  of  Speaker — Mr.  Seymour  and  Col. 
Crain — Mr.  Seymour  is  nominated  and  elected — Governor's  Message — 
Caucus  to  nominate  State  Officers — Ita  result — Caucus  to  nominate 
United  States  Senators — Messrs.  Dickinson  and  Dix  nominated  and 
elected— Mr.  Folk's  offer  to  appoint  Mr.  Wright  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury— Gov.  Marcy  appointed  Secretary  of  War. 

NEVER  had  the  democratic  party  achieved  a  greater 
triumph  than  in  the  election  of  1844.  Both  of  the  great 
parties  of  the  country  had  put  forth  their  entire  strength 
in  the  contest ;  the  interest  excited  was  intense  and  uni- 
versal, and  the  result  decisive.  The  whig  party  was 
entirely  prostrated,  and  apparently  disorganized.  The 
democratic  party  of  the  state  never  held  so  strong  a  po- 
sition. The  severity  of  the  contest  with  the  whigs  had 
restored  its  ancient  discipline,  which  had  been  impaired 
by  the  divisions  in  its  ranks  during  Mr.  Bouck's  admin- 
istration, and  the  utmost  enthusiasm  animated  its  masses. 
Mr.  Wright's  position  was  not  less  flattering ;  the  gen- 
eral belief  that  his  name  had  largely  contributed  to  carry 
the  state,  and  consequently  the  nation,  gave  him  great 
credit  at  home  and  abroad,  while  the  body  of  the  party 
felt  for  him  that  admiration  which  is  always  excited  in 
favor  of  prominent  candidates  at  earnestly  contested 
elections.  As  he  had  been  withdrawn  for  many  years 
from  the  irritating  domestic  feuds  of  the  party,  it  is  fair 
to  presume  that  all  sections  were  disposed  to  support  his 
administration. 


1845.]  HUNKER  AND  RADICAL  DIFFERENCES.  511 

"I  know  it  is  charged  that  the  friends  ofGov.  Bouck," 
says  an  intelligent  and  fair-minded  hunker  correspond- 
ent, "  were  determined  to  embarrass  his  administration 
from  the  beginning.  Whatever  may  have  been  the 
feelings  of  a  few  individuals.  I  do  not  think  it  was  the 
case  to  any  extent.  I  can  say  that  so  far  as  my  obser- 
vation extended,  and  from  what  I  know  of  the  views  of 
those  with  whom  I  was  acting,  it  was  believed  he  would 
act  impartially  between  the  different  interests.  I  still 
believe,  if  Mr.  Wright  had  acted  in  pursuance  of  his 
own  views,  he  would  have  harmonized  all  differences. 
He  could  not  but  feel  that  he  had  been  fairly  supported 
by  all  interests,  and  during  the  progress  of  the  election, 
he  had  been  brought  into  contact  and  co-operation  with 
all  classes  of  politicians.  It  was  natural  he  should  feel 
unwilling  to  commence  a  war  upon  those  who  had  so 
recently  put  forth  every  effort  to  sustain  him.  When 
he  first  went  to  Albany,  before  the  commencement  of  the 
session,  he  took  occasion  to  manifest  his  disposition  to 
harmonize  all  differences." 

It.is  confidently  asserted  by  the  hunkers  that  the  inti- 
mate friends  and  confidential  advisers  of  Mr.  Wright 
entertained  different  feelings  and  views.  They  allege 
that  Mr.  Van  Buren  felt  that  his  defeat  in  the  Baltimore 
Convention  was  in  part  owing  to  an  influence  emanating 
from  this  state.  Mr.  Flagg  also  had  been  deeply  engaged 
in  the  quarrel  with  Gov.  Bouck  ;  and  that  section  of  the 
democratic  party  friendly  to  the  late  governor  insist  that 
after  the  first  feelings  of  triumph  on  account  of  the  result 
of  the  election  had  subsided,  Mr.  Flagg,  and  other  gen- 
tlemen with  whom  he  had  acted,  began  to  mark  out  a 
policy  for  the  future.  That  policy,  they  say,  looked  to 
the  elevation  of  Mr.  Wright  to  the  presidency;  that 


"".  I  POLITICAL  H1HTUHY   OK   \K\V   YORK.  [1S15. 

these  leading  radicals,  in  order  to  carry  into  effect  their 
views,  and  preserve  their  own  ascendency,  arrived  at 
the  conclusion,  that,  instead  of  conciliating  the  friends 
of  Gov.  Bouck,  it  was  necessary  to  put  them  down  ;  and 
they  thought  that  as  they  then  had  the  strength  to  ef- 
fect this  object,  that  then  was  the  time  to  execute  the 
scheme. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  radicals  believed,  or  claimed 
to  believe,  that  the  object  of  the  hunkers  was  by  little 
and  little  to  encroach  on  the  financial  system  established 
by  the  act  of  1842;  that  the  leading  members  of  that 
section  of  the  party  came  to  the  capitol  with  smothered 
but  bitter  feelings  of  resentment  for  the  defeat  they  had 
suffered  in  the  convention  of  Syracuse,  and  with  a  de- 
termination to  wage  an  insidious  war  against  those  who 
had  caused  that  defeat.  It  is  by  no  means  improbable 
that  both  sections  were  unreasonably  jealous  of  each 
other,  and  that  each  party  charged  the  other  with  acting 
from  motives  to  which  they  were  strangers.  At  any 
rate,  we  are  quite  sure  that  this  last  remark  is  correct, 
as  respects  several  distinguished  individuals  belonging 
to  the  hunker  and  radical  parties ;  and  the  fact  is  uni- 
versally admitted,  that  whatever  of  jealousy  or  hostility 
existed  in  the  breasts  of  the  leaders  of  the  two  sections 
in  Albany,  those  jealousies  and  enmities  did  not  prevail 
to  any  considerable  extent  among  the  masses  of  the  dem- 
ocratic party  in  the  country.  They  were  glowing  with 
the;  enthusiasm  Qxcited  by  the  triumph  in  the  recent  con- 
test, and  the  exhibition  of  domestic  broils  annoyed  and 
mortified  them.  This  feeling  was  entertained  by  many 
of  the  democratic  members  of  the  legislature  when  they 
came  from  the  country.  Most  of  them  were  strangers 
to  public  life,  and  they  entered  the  capitol  expecting  to 


1845.]  MEMBERS  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY.  513 

act  in  support  of  Gov.  Wright,  and  in  concert  with  the 
state  officers. 

Mr.  Horatio  Seymour  was  the  only  member  of  the 
assembly  of  1845,  that  belonged  to  the  democratic  party, 
who  was  a  member  the  preceding  year,  and  but  two 
others  had  been  members  of  any  legislative  body  previ- 
ous to  that  time.  Mr.  Seymour  of  Oneida,  Col.  Grain 
of  Herkimer,  Mr.  Bailey  of  Putnam,  Mr.  T.  R.  Lee  of 
Westchester,  Mr.  Russell  of  St.  Lawrence,  Mr.  Corn- 
stock  of  Oneida,  and  Mr.  Niven  of  Orange,  were  the 
leading  democratic  members. 

The  whigs,  although  in  the  minority,  were  represent- 
ed by  very  able  and  experienced  men — some  of  them 
were  highly  and  justly  distinguished  for  their  talents. 
The  present  governor,  JOHN  YOUNG,  of  Livingston,  and 
Alvah  Worden,  from  Ontario,  were  their  leaders.  They 
were  sustained  by  Mr.  Bloss  of  Monroe,  Lee  of  Erie,. 
Van  Schoonhoven  of  Troy,  Harris  of  Albany,  S.  A. 
Brown  of  Chautauque,  and  A.  W.  Young  of  Wyoming, 
the  author  of  a  very  valuable  and  highly  useful  work 
"  On  the  Science  of  Government,"  and  more  recently  of 
a  treatise  entitled  "  First  Lessons  in  Civil  Government." 
The  city  of  New  York  was  represented  by  men  chosen 
by  the  Native  American  party,  and  were  all  highly  re- 
spectable for  their  talents  and  standing  in  community. 
Messrs.  Wheeler,  Morrison,  and  De  Puy,  from  that  city, 
took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  house. 

Although  the  democratic  party  in  the  senate  had  lost 
the  powerful  support  of  Mr.  Foster,  it  had  gained  that 
of  Mr.  Hand,  from  the  fourth  district,  a  man  of  talents, 
and  who  possessed  a  mind  highly  cultivated.  He  has 
been  recently  elected  a  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  by 
the  fourth  judicial  district.  Mr.  Talcott,  the  successor 


514  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

of  Mr.  Foster,  was  also  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the 
senate.  He  was  a  sound  lawyer  and  an  industrious  and 
able  legislator. 

No  sooner  did  the  members  begin  to  assemble  at  Al- 
bany, than  indications  were  manifested  that  the  hopes  of 
Gov.  Wright,  and  other  well-wishers  of  the  democratic 
cause  who  had  riot  mingled  in  the  controversies  which 
had  raged  between  the  hunkers  and  radicals  during  the 
preceding  session,  were  delusive.  The  war  was  re- 
vived with  increased  fury  on  the  canvass  for  nomination 
of  speaker  of  the  assembly. 

The  energy  of  character,  address,  and  abilities  of  Mr. 
Seymour  have  been  heretofore  stated.  As  it  was  gen- 
erally admitted  that  he  possessed  the  qualities  we  have 
ascribed  to  him,  and  as  he  was  the  only  democratic 
member  of  the  last  house  of  assembly  who  had  been  re- 
elected,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  have  been  spoken 
of  as  a  very  suitable  man  for  the  office  of  speaker.  Ac- 
cordingly, some  time  before  the  commencement  of  the 
session,  he  had  been  applied  to  by  his  friends  to  stand 
as  a  candidate.  We  are  assured,  on  the  best  authority, 
that  when  the  project  was  considered  by  him  he  was 
not  inclined  to  encourage  it,  but  preferred  the  position 
of  a  floor  member.  He  however  finally  consented  that 
his  name  should  be  used.  When  he  gave  that  consent 
he  did  not  anticipate  that  his  support  of  the  renomina- 
tion  of  Gov.  Bouck,  or  his  canal  report,  would,  at  the 
commencement  of  a  new  administration,  be  urged  against 
him  ;  but  on  his  arrival  at  Albany,  a  day  or  two  before 
the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  he  was  informed  that  the 
state  officers  were  taking  very  active  measures  to  pre- 
vent his  nomination  by  a  democratic  caucus. 

The  candidate  whom  it  was  proposed  to  present  in 


1845.]  CONTEST  FOR  SPEAKERSHIP.  515 

opposition  to  Mr.  Seymour,  was  Col.  William  C.  Grain, 
of  HerKimer,  a  very  worthy  man,  who  had  some  years 
before  been  a  member  of  the  assembly,  and  more  re- 
cently sheriff  of  the  county  of  Herkimer.  Col.  Crain 
was  an  educated  agriculturist,  highly  esteemed  in  his 
own  county,  and  indeed  wherever  he  was  known.  He 
was  the  friend  and  pupil,  politically  speaking,  of  Mr. 
Hoffman,  and  thoroughly  radical  in  his  principles.  It  is 
not  to  be  presumed  that  he  felt  any  desire  to  compete 
for  the  office  of  speaker,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  rather 
••eluctantly  consented  to  be  a  candidate  at  the  solicita- 
;on  of  friends. 

When  Mr.  Seymour  perceived  that  a  contest  was  de- 

>  mnined  on  by  his  opponents,  he  felt  that  his  personal 

j'anding  and  influence  would  in  some  degree  depend  on 

'he  result.     Very  active  efforts  were  therefore  made,  as 

/ell  by  him  and  his  friends  as  by  the  friends  of  Col. 

/rain  and  influential  citizens  from  abroad,  who  either 

•ccidentally,  or  because  they  were  desirous  to  exert  an 

ifluence  in  the  nomination  of  speaker,  were  in  attend- 

nce  at  Albany,  and  took  part,  according  to  their  re- 

pective  predilections,  in  the  contest. 

The  radicals  alleged  that  an  unusual  number  of  post- 

aasters  and  other  office-holders  under  the  general  gov- 

rnment  made  their  appearance  in  Albany  and  advocated 

he  election  of  Mr.  Seymour ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 

he  hunkers  affirmed  that  the' city  was  crowded  with 

jersons  holding  office  under  the  canal  board,  who  were 

jxtremely  zealous  and  active  in  their  efforts  to  promote 

the  election  of  Col.  Crain.    Probably  there  is  some  truth 

in  the  allegations  on  both  sides. 

Among  other  means  to  which  a  resort  was  had  to  de- 
feat Seymour's  nomination  and  promote  that  of  Crain,  it 


516  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

was  represented  that  the  election  of  Mr.  Seymour  would 
be  injurious  to  Mr.  Wright,  who  did  not  desire  his  elec- 
tion. The  governor  was  at  that  time  preparing  his  mes- 
sage, and  saw  few  of  the  members  ;  but  Mr.  Seymour 
hearing  of  these  reports,  determined  forthwith  to  ascer- 
tain, from  the  proper  source,  whether  they  were  author- 
ized. He  therefore  called  upon  Gov.  Wright,  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Van  Valkenburgh,  a  member  from  Steu- 
ben,  and  Mr.  Thayer,  from  Oswego,  and  informed  the 
governor  that  he  (Mr.  S.)  had  been  told  that  it  had  been 
stated  by  some  of  the  state  officers,  naming  two  of  them, 
that  his  election  to  the  speakership  would  embarrass  the 
governor's  administration  ;  that  if  he  felt  that  such  would 
be  the  case,  Mr.  S.  would  instantly  withdraw  his  name, 
although  it  would  be  embarrassing  to  do  so  after  having 
been  publicly  announced  as  a  candidate.  He  added, 
that  nevertheless  there  was  no  reason  why  any  personal 
considerations  affecting  him  should  embarrass  the  ad- 
ministration, the  success  of  which  was  of  much  greater 
consequence  than  any  interest  he  could  have  in  this 
matter;  and  he  desired  the  governor  to  state  frankly 
what  his  wishes  were  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Wright  de- 
nied having  expressed  any  opinion  on  the  question  of 
speaker,  and  said  he  had  taken  no  part  in  the  matter, 
and  had  no  wishes  in  respect  to  the  result. 

If,  as  Mr.  Seymour  evidently  from  his  communication 
to  Gov.  Wright  suspected,  the  state  officers  were  at  the 
bottom  of  the  opposition  to  him,  it  seems  to  us  they  mis- 
judged. If  they  deemed  it  important  that  some  person 
other  than  Seymour  should  be  made  speaker,  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  if  they  had  early  requested  him  to  de- 
cline being  a  candidate,  he  would  have  done  so ;  or  if  they 
wished  to  test  the  feelings  of  the  members  elect  on  the 


1845.]  THE  SPEAKERSHIP.  517 

question  between  hunkers  and  radicals,  they  might  have 
effected  that  object  by  a  resort  to  some  means  in  which 
success  was  less  doubtful,  and  which  were  not  calcula- 
ted to  excite  so  much  warmth  and  bitterness.  It  had 
the  appearance  of  an'  attempt  to  revive  old  controver- 
sies without  any  just  provocation,  and  also  seemed  to  be 
an  unjustifiable  interference  by  the  state  officers  in  the 
election  of  officers  of  the  house.  This  charge  against 
the  state  officers  (whether  well  or  ill  founded)  was,  at  a 
subsequent  caucus,  used  against  some  of  them  with  fatal 
effect.  4 

We  have  here  given  the  views  of  this  transaction 
which  were,  and  probably  yet  are,  entertained  by  the 
hunkers.  It  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  they  (no 
doubt  acting  under  the  impulse  of  an  honest  delusion) 
laid  much  to  the  state  officers  of  which  they  were  not 
guilty,  and  imputed  to  them  acts  which  in  reality  were 
done  by  others. 

We  have  now  before  us  a  letter  from  an  active  radi- 
cal politician,  in  which,  after  stating  that  Gov.  Wright 
returned  to  Canton  after  he  had  been  to  Albany  and  re- 
signed his  seat  in  the  senate,  as  has  been  related,  he 
adds,  that  nothing  was  known  of  his  sentiments,  if  he 
had  formed  any  opinion  on  the  subject  of  organizing  the 
house  ;  and  "  I  am,"  says  the  writer,  "  inclined  to  be- 
lieve he  did  not  intend  to  mingle  with  it.  Until  three 
days  before  the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  Mr.  Flagg 
was  dumb  on  the  subject.  Gov.  Wright  had  arrived ; 
and  the  Wednesday  evening  before  the  first  Tuesday  of 
January  I  was  conversing  with  Senator  Porter,  when 
he  informed  me  the  radicals  would  vote  for  Col.  Grain. 
I  asked  him  if  it  was  the  wish  of  the  governor  that  Col. 
C.  should  be  speaker.  He  said  he  did  not  know.  I  then 


518  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

said  to  Mr.  Porter,  'Col.  Grain  will  be  in  town  to-m  r- 
row  ;  I  shall  see  him  and  advise  him  not  to  permit  his 
name  to  be  used  unless  Gov.  Wright  and  Mr.  Flagg  will 
say  publicly  they  wish  him  to  be  the  speaker.'  I  gave 
Mr.  Porter  my  reasons.  He  said  he  would  see  the  gov- 
ernor the  next  day.  He  did  so,  and  assured  me  that  the 
governor  desired  that  the  colonel  should  be  speaker." 

We  remark  in  passing,  that  probably  Mr.  Wright  said 
no  more  than  he  did  to  Mr.  Seymour,  which  amounted 
to  this — that  he  should  be  pleased  with  Mr.  Grain,  pro- 
vided his  election  was  agreeable  to  the  majority  of  the 
democratic  members,  which  Mr.  Porter  naturally  took 
for  an  expression  of  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  governor 
that  the  particular  person  thus  mentioned  should  be  se- 
lected. From  this  statement  of  our  correspondent,  which 
we  have  not  a  particle  of  doubt  is  every  word  of  it  true, 
it  is  extremely  probable  the  opposition  to  Mr.  Seymour 
was  not,  as  the  hunkers  supposed,  and  perhaps  had  rea- 
son to  believe,  got  up  in  the  state  hall,  but  the  state  of- 
ficers, on  this  as  on  other  questions,  merely  acted  with 
their  radical  friends  in  and  out  of  the  legislature. 

At  a  caucus  of  the  democratic  members  of  the  assem- 
bly, held  on  the  evening  preceding  the  opening  of  the 
legislative  session,  of  which  Mr.  Van  Valkenburgh  was 
chairman,  on  balloting  for  speaker,  Mr.  Seymour  had  35 
votes,  and  Mr.  Grain  30.  At  the  same  caucus,  Mr.  J. 
R.  Rose  was  nominated  clerk.  Both  gentlemen  were 
the  next  day  elected. 

The  governor's  message  was,  of  course,  an  able  state 
paper.  He  commences  by  stating  the  revenue  for  the 
last  fiscal  year  as  follows  : 

"  The  total  amount  of  receipts  on  account  of  the  gen- 
eral fund,  including  the  whole  of  the  state  tax,  of  one 


1845.]  GOVERNOR'S  MRSSAGE.  519 

mill  on  the  dollar,  and  deducting  the 

sum  received  for  temporary  loans,  was  $1,073,249  01 

"  The  entire  revenues  of  the  canal  fund, 
including  all  the  receipts  for  tolls,  wa- 
ter rents,  and  interest,  for  all  the  ca- 
nals, were 2,350,615  94 

"  The  revenues  of  the  school  fund  prop- 
er, were 133,826  51 

"The  re  venues  of  the  literature  fund  were          18,490  34 

"The   revenues    of   the  United   States 
deposite  fund,  after  deducting  $106, 
412  55,  transferred  from  revenue  to 
capital,  were 237,304  25 


Making  a  total  of $3,813,486  05 

He  then  proceeds  to  present  a  luminous  view  of  the 
financial  condition  of  the  state,  and  of  its  debts  and  lia- 
bilities. He  earnestly  recommends  an  inflexible  adhe- 
rence to  the  policy  marked  out  by  the  law  of  1842,  and 
shows,  by  a  recurrence  to  the  history  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Erie  and  Champlain  canals,  that  the  debt 
then  contracted,  and  the  provisions  for  the  payment  of 
its  interest  and  principal,  were  in  perfect  accordance  with 
the  same  policy,  or  rather,  that  the  act  of  '42  was  a  re- 
vival of  that  policy. 

On  the  subject  of  amending  the  constitution,  the  gov- 
ernor strongly  urges  proposing  an  amendment  to  the 
people  which  shall  render  the  pledges  contained  in  the 
act  of  '42  a  part  of  the  organic  law  of  the  state  ;  and  on 
this  and  other  necessary  alterations  of  the  constitution, 
he  recommends  the  exercise  of  liberal  concessions  in  re- 
gard to  details  and  harmony  in  action,  with  a  view  to 
avoid  the  necessity  of  a  resort  to  a  convention. 


520  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

"  Our  present  constitution,"  says  the  governor,  "  has 
remained  the  fundamental  law  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  several  amendments  having  been,  in  that  time, 
adopted,  in  conformity  with  the  provision  of  that  instru- 
ment for  its  own  amendment.  Hitherto  that  provision 
has  satisfied  the  public  mind,  and  led  to  the  amendments 
demanded  by  the  popular  feeling  and  judgment.  I  con- 
sider it  extremely  desirable  that  this  should  continue  to 
be  found  practically  true,  and  that  such  a  degree  of  har- 
mony shall,  at  all  times,  prevail  between  the  popular  will 
and  the  legislative  action,  in  reference  to  further  pro- 
posed amendments,  as  shall  supersede  demands  for  con- 
stitutional change  in  any  other  form." 

The  governor  urges  the  payment  of  the  instalments 
of  the  principal  of  the  public  debt  when  they  become 
due,  and  solemnly  protests  against  "  deferred  stock." 

On  the  subject  of  the  common-school  fund,  the  mes- 
sage contains  the  following  beautiful  paragraph,  which 
cannot  be  too  highly  admired  : 

"  No  public  fund  of  the  state  is  so  unpretending,  yet  so 
all-pervading — so  little  seen,  yet  so  universally  felt — so 
mild  in  its  exactions,  yet  so  bountiful  in  its  benefits — so 
little  feared  or  courted,  and  yet  so  powerful,  as  this  fund 
for  the  support  of  common  schools.  The  other  funds 
act  upon  the  secular  interests  of  society,  its  business,  its 
pleasures,  its  pride,  its  passions,  its  vices,  its  misfortunes. 
This  acts  upon  its  mind  and  its  morals.  Education  is 
to  free  institutions  what  bread  is  to  human  life,  the  staff 
of  their  existence.  The  office  of  this  fund  is  to  open 
and  warm  the  soil,  and  sow  the  seed,  from  which  this 
element  of  freedom  must  grow  and  ripen  into  maturity ; 
and  the  health  or  sickliness  of  the  growth  -,\  511  measure 
the  extent  and  security  of  our  liberties.  The  thankful- 


GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  521 

ness  we  owe  to  those  who  have  gone  before  us,  for  the 
institution  of  this  fund,  for  its  constitutional  protection, 
and  for  its  safe  and  prudent  administration  hitherto,  we 
can  best  repay  by  imitating  their  example,  and  impro- 
ving upon  their  work  as  the  increased  means  placed  in 
our  hands  shall  give  us  the  ability." 

The  governor,  after  alluding  to  the  anti-rent  outrages, 
says  : 

"  An  exciting  state  election  was  made  the  occasion 
for  an  earnest  attempt  to  intermix  these  questions  with 
the  general  politics  of  the  state,  and  make  them  tests  of 
election  to  the  legislature.  It  was  but  reasonable  to  ex- 
pect, after  the  appeals  made  in  this  form  had  been  pa- 
tiently listened  to,  maturely  considered,  and  deliberately 
decided  by  the  freemen  of  the  counties  before  whom 
the  questions  were  raised,  that  further  efforts,  in  any 
other  manner,  to  accomplish  the  objects  sought,  would 
be  at  least  delayed  until  the  relief  expected  could  have 
been  asked  at  the  hands  of  the  legislature.  Even  this 
delay  has  not  been  suffered,  but  resistance  to  the  law 
and  its  officers  has  been  renewed,  in  forms  and  under 
circumstances  of  the  deepest  aggravation.  Organized 
bands  of  men,  assuming  the  disguise  of  savages,  with 
arms  in  their  hands,  have  already  bid  defiance  to  the 
law,  its  process,  and  its  officers,  and  in  repeated  in- 
stances, and  in  more  than  one  county,  put  the  life  of  the 
sheriff  or  his  deputies  in  imminent  peril,  forcibly  taken 
from  them  their  official  papers,  and  burned  them  in  open 
day,  compelling  the  officer  to  desist  from  further  at- 
tempts to  discharge  his  duties. 

"  These  misguided  violators  of  the  law,  and  disturbers 
of  the  public  peace,  have  not  confined  their  outrages 
within  even  this  limit.  Already  the  lives  of  two  peace- 


522  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

able  and  unoffending  citizens  have  been  taken,  and  in 
both  instances,  when  neither  the  sheriff  nor  his  officers 
were  present,  and  when  no  attempt  was  made  to  serve 
legal  process." 

The  governor  goes  on  to  say  that  "  minor  outrages 
upon  the  rights  and  persons  of  private  individuals,  and 
the  peace  of  neighborhoods,  had  begun  to  awaken  atten- 
tion to  the  danger  of  these  lawless  and  passionate  pro- 
ceedings  ;  but  these  wanton  sacrifices  of  human  life,  in  a 
manner  so  unprovoked  and  causeless,  have  given  to  the 
whole  public  mind  a  shock,  which  nothing  but  the  prompt 
and  effectual  restoration  of  the  reign  of  law  and  order 
can  calm. 

"  While  the  question  between  the  proprietors  and  the 
tenants  was  uhether  the  leasehold  tenures  should  be 
perpetuated,  or  the  rents  should  be  commuted  upon  fair 
and  reasonable  terms,  and  fee  simple  titles  should  be 
given  upon  the  payment  of  a  capital  in  money,  which, 
invested  at  a  stipulated  rate,  would  reproduce  the  rents 
to  the  landlord,  the  controversy  was  one  in  which  the 
feelings  and  sympathies  of  our  people  were  deeply  en- 
listed, and  strongly  inclining  in  favor  of  the  tenants. 

"  Then  the  question  was,  not  whether  rights  of  prop- 
erty are  to  be  trampled  upon,  the  obligations  of  contracts 
violently  resisted,  the  laws  of  the  state  set  at  defiance, 
the  peace  of  society  disturbed,  and  human  life  sacrificed, 
but  in  what  way  contracts,  onerous  in  their  exactions 
and  tenures,  in  their  nature  and  character  uncongenial 
with  the  habits  and  opinions  of  our  people,  could  be 
peaceably,  and  justly,  and  constitutionally  modified  to 
meet  the  changed  circumstances  of  the  times.  And  then 
I  might  have  invited  your  careful  attention  to  the  con 
siderations  growing  out  of  these  issues. 


1845.]  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  523 

"  But  I  feel  precluded  from  discussions  of  this  char- 
acter, by  the  extravagant  and  indefensible  position  given 
to  the  controversy  by  the  unlawful  and  violent  proceed- 
ings of  those,  who  assume  to  take  the  charge  of  the  rights 
and  interests  of  the  tenants  involved  in  this  litigation.'' 

He  recommends  the  enactment  of  a  law  making  it 
highly  penal,  and  severely  punishable,  for  individuals  to 
disguise  themselves  with  a  view  to  resist  the  laws  or 
commit  breaches  of  the  peace. 

The  governor  concludes  by  a  very  brief  allusion  to 
our  national  affairs,  and  the  result  of  the  late  presiden- 
tial election.  In  respect  to  those  great  questions  in  rela- 
tion to  the  tariff,  a  national  bank,  and  the  distribution  of 
the  avails  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands,  which  had  so 
long  attracted  the  attention  of  the  people,  and  agitated 
their  minds,  he  considered  the  dispute  finally  put  at  rest 
by  the  voice  of  the  electors,  pronounced  at  the  polls, 
and  he  says : 

"  It  is  reasonable  to  hope  that,  after  so  solemn  a  deci- 
sion of  the  people,  pronounced  under  such  circumstances, 
the  great  interests  of  the  country,  which  have  long  been 
kept  in  a  condition  of  uncertainty  and  agitation,  will  be 
allowed  repose  ;  that  the  basis  of  the  action  of  the  fed- 
eral government,  on  the  subject  of  the  currency,  may 
now  be  considered  settled  ;  that  all  further  agitation  on 
the  question  of  assigning  one  entire  branch  of  the  per- 
manent federal  revenues  to  the  states  may  be  at  an  end ; 
and  that  the  principle  upon  which  the  revenues  of  that 
government,  to  be  derived  from  customs,  are  to  be  as- 
sessed, is  intelligibly  defined.  All  these  are  subjects 
which  deeply  affect  the  business  interests  of  every  por- 
tion of  the  country,  but  more  especially,  and  most  deep- 
ly, the  commercial  and  trading  interests;  and  as  the 


524  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

most  commercial  state  of  the  Union,  we  have  felt,  with 
great  severity,  the  uncertainty,  the  change,  and  the 
prospect  of  change,  which,  for  many  years  past,  have 
almost  constantly  surrounded  all  these  questions." 

The  state  officers  were  to  be  appointed  at  this  session, 
and  two  senators  of  the  United  States  were  to  be  chosen. 
The  selection  of  candidates  for  these  important  offices 
excited  much  feeling  and  interest. 

Unfortunately  for  some  of  the  incumbents  of  the  state 
offices,  the  contest  in  relation  to  the  speakership  was 
calculated  to  organize,  and  did  organize  two  interests  in 
the  assembly  composed  of  members  from  the  country, 
many  of  whom  when  they  left  home  felt  little  or  no  pre- 
dilection for  either  of  the  sections  of  the  democratic 
party,  into  which  the  members  during  the  session  of 
1844  were  divided.  But  the  feelings  excited  by  that 
contest  induced  those  who  supported  Mr.  Seymour  in 
the  caucus  to  join  the  hunker  party,  and  those  who  took 
sides  in  behalf  of  Col.  Grain  to  act  with  the  radicals ; 
and,  with  occasional  exceptions,  it  will  be  found  that 
during  the  session  they  respectively,  on  all  important 
questions,  acted  together,  as  they  had  done  on  the  ques- 
tion of  the  selection  of  a  speaker.  All  the  state  officers 
were  radicals,  and  the  hunkers  took  the  position  that  it 
was  fit  and  proper  that  a  part  of  them  should  be  of  their 
party.  Their  determination  to  sustain  this  position  was 
strengthened  by  an  impression,  that  the  existing  state 
officers  had  interfered  and  exercised  a  powerful  influ- 
ence in  the  selection  of  a  speaker. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  state  officers  consisted 
of  the  secretary  of  state,  comptroller,  treasurer,  attorney- 
general,  and  surveyor-general.  The  office  of  surveyor- 
general  was  vacated  by  the  election  of  Mr.  Jones  as  a 


1845.]  LEGISLATIVE  CAUCUS.  525 

canal  commissioner,  and  Mr.  Barker  declined  a  reap- 
pointmerit  to  the  office  of  attorney-general.  The  hun- 
kers claimed  one-half  of  those  officers.  No  opposition 
was  made  to  Mr.  Flagg,  but  Mr.  Benton,  of  Herkimer 
county,  was  supported  by  the  hunkers  in  opposition  to 
Col.  Young.  For  the  office  of  attorney-general,  Mr. 
Peckham  was  made  the  opposing  candidate  to  Mr.  John 
Van  Buren,  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Enos,  of  Madison  county, 
was  sustained  by  the  hunkers  for  treasurer,  against  Mr. 
Farrington,  then  the  incumbent  of  that  office. 

On  the  evening  of  the  first  of  February  a  caucus  was 
held,  which  was  attended  by  all  the  democratic  mem- 
bers of  both  houses,  except  Gen.  Chamberlain  of  the 
senate,  who  was  confined  to  his  room  by  severe  illness. 
Judge  Bockee  was  chosen  chairman.  No  opposition 
was  made  to  the  reappointment  of  Mr.  Flagg.  but  it  is 
remarkable  how  nearly  equal  the  parties  were  divided 
in  relation  to  the  other  officers.  On  the  first  ballot  for 
secretary  of  state  there  was  no  choice,  but  on  the  sec- 
ond ballot  Mr.  Benton  had  two  majority.  Mr.  John 
Van  Buren  was  nominated  attorney-general  over  Mr. 
Peckham  by  a  majority  of  one  only  ;  Mr.  Enos  obtained 
seven  majority  over  Mr.  Farrington  ;  and  Mr.  Hugh 
Halsey,  of  Suffolk  county,  obtained  the  same  majority 
for  surveyor-general  over  Mr.  Sydney  Lawrence,  late 
senator.  Mr.  Henry  Storms  was  unanimously  nomina- 
ted for  reappointment  to  the  office  of  commissary -general. 
Martin  Van  Buren  and  William  C.  Bouck  were  nomina- 
ted to  supply  two  vacancies  in  the  board  of  regents, 
occasioned  by  the  recent  death  of  William  Campbell  and 
the  resignation  of  Joseph  Russell. 

Col.  Young,  from  his  distinguished  talents,  his  long 
public  services,  and  recently  for  the  zeal  and  ability  with 


62fi  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845 

which  he  had  superintended  the  common-school  depart- 
ment ;  and  Mr.  Farrington,  from  his  amiable  deport- 
ment and  unexceptionable  character,  had  many  friends ; 
and  the  defeat  of  those  gentlemen  consequently  pro- 
duced much  excitement  and  irritation.  That  excitement 
and  irritation  were  increased  by  the  contest  respect- 
ing the  selection  of  candidates  for  the  U.  States  senate. 
It  was  believed  that  the  exhibition  of  strength  which 
should  be  exhibited  on  this  occasion  by  the  two  sections 
of  the  democratic  party,  both  of  course  claiming  to  be 
friendly  to  the  general  administration,  would  have  a 
great  and  perhaps  a  controlling  influence  with  Mr.  Polk 
in  the  selection  of  a  member  of  his  cabinet  from  this 
state;  that  is  to  say,  he  would  select  such  member 
from  that  section  which  should  appear  to  be  the  strongest. 
The  hunkers  supported  Messrs.  Dickinson  and  Fos- 
ter, and  the  radicals  Messrs.  Dix  and  Hoffman.  Every 
effort  was  put  forth  to  secure  success  on  both  sides. 
The  canvass  was  very  close,  and  produced  an  intense 
excitement.  The  division  of  strength  was  so  equally 
balanced,  that  die  result  for  some  time  was  quite  uncer- 
tain. There  were  a  few  members  who  had  gone  with 
the  hunkers,  in  the  selection  of  state  officers,  on  the 
principle  that  these  offices  ought  to  be  equally  divided 
between  the  two  sections.  These  men,  of  whom  it 
is  presumed  Mr.  Bockee  of  the  senate  was  one,  held 
the  balance  of  power,  and  they  intimated  a  disposition 
to  support  one  hunker  and  one  radical  for  United  States 
senators.  Gov.  Wright  seemed  to  favor  an  equal  divi- 
sion of  officers,  and  finally  expressed  himself  decidedly 
against  Mr.  Foster.  This  being  the  state  of  things,  the 
hunkers  became  satisfied  that  the  attempt  to  sustain  Mr. 
Foster  would  be  vain  and  useless. 


1845.]  LEGISLATIVE  CAUCUS.  527 

There  were  two  very  clever  radical  young  men,  Mr. 
Harden  and  Mr.  Carpenter,  from  the  county  of  Otsego. 
and  so  close  was  the  canvass,  that  it  was  believed,  if 
they  could  be  induced  to  change  their  votes,  two  hun- 
ker candidates  would  be  nominated.  Partly  with  this 
view,  the  hunkers,  under  the  advisement  of  Mr.  S.  S. 
Bowne,  an  energetic  and  talented  politician,  and  late 
member  of  congress,  who  happened  then  to  be  in  Alba- 
ny, at  the  last  moment  brought  forward  Judge  Nelson, 
and  as  he  was  a  resident  of  the  same  county  from  which 
Messrs.  Carpenter  and  Harden  came,  it  was  presumed 
he  would  not  be  opposed  by  them.  But  this  expectation 
proved  to  be  ill  founded.  These  gentlemen  had  taken 
their  ground,  and  could  not  be  moved. 

The  caucus  was  held  on  the  24th  of  February  ;  ninety- 
three  members  were  present,  being  all  the  democratic 
members  of  the  legislature,  except  Mr.  Dayton,  of  Suf- 
folk county.  Mr.  Dennison  was  appointed  chairman  of 
the  caucus. 

Mr.  Porter,  of  the  senate,  offered  a  resolution,  which 
was  read,  proposing  that  the  caucus  now  proceed  to 
ballot  for  a  candidate  for  United  States  senator,  to  sup- 
ply the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  the 
Hon.  Silas  Wright. 

Mr.  Wright  offered  a  substitute,  to  the  effect  that  the 
meeting  now  proceed  to  ballot  for  candidates  for  United 
States  senators — first,  in  place  of  the  Hor».  Silas  Wright : 
next,  in  the  place  of  the  Hon.  N.  P.  Tallmadge  ;  and 
third,  for  the  full  term  commencing  on  the  4th  of  March 
next. 

A  long  discussion  ensued,  in  which  it  appeared  that 
the  radical  portion  of  the  convention  were  desirous  to 
nominate  a  candidate  to  supply  the  vacancy  occasioned 


528  POLITICAL  HISTORY   OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

by  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Wright,  whose  unexpived  term 
continued  for  four  years  from  the  4th  of  March  then 
next ;  and  another  in  lieu  of  Mr.  Tallmadge,  whose  term 
would  expire  within  about  six  weeks;  leaving  the  selec- 
tion of  a  senator  who  should  be  the  successor  of  Mr. 
Tallmadge,  after  the  4th  of  March,  and  whose  term 
would  of  course  continue  for  six  years  from  that  time, 
to  be  nominated  at  a  future  meeting  of  the  members. 
This  was  resisted  by  the  hunkers.  Messrs.  Porter, 
Sherman,  T.  R.  Lee,  Lester,  and  Johnson,  spoke  in 
favor  of  Mr.  Porter's  resolution,  and  Messrs.  Wright, 
Lott,  Beers,  Seymour,  and  Clark,  in  support  of  Mr. 
Wright's  substitute.  Mr.  Porter's  motion  finally  pre- 
vailed. 

Mr.  Bockee  then  proposed  the  name  of  Judge  Nelson 
for  senator  in  lieu  of  Mr.  Wright,  while  on  the  other 
side  the  name  of  Gen.  Dix  was  brought  forward.  Upon 
a  ballot  Gen.  Dix  received  51  votes,  and  was  nominated, 
only  41  votes  having  been  cast  for  Judge  Nelson.  The 
caucus  then  proceeded  to  ballot  for  a  candidate  to  sup- 
ply the  unexpired  term  of  Mr.  Tallmadge,  when  Mr. 
Dickinson  was  nominated  by  a  large  majority.  Imme- 
diately after  the  result  of  this  vote  was  declared,  a  mo- 
tion was  made  to  adjourn.  This  effort  produced  con- 
siderable excitement,  but  the  motion  failed  by  a  vote  of 
55  to  37  ;  Messrs.  Carpenter  and  Harden  voting  against 
the  adjournmeht.  Several  radicals  declined  voting  at 
all  on  this  question. 

Mr.  Beers  then  moved  that  the  caucus  proceed  to 
ballot  for  a  candidate  for  senator  in  congress  for  six 
years  from  the  fourth  of  March  next.  Some  confusion 
followed,  and  Mr.  Baily,  of  Putnam,  made  a  zealous  and 
ingenious  speech  in  favor  of  postponing  further  action. 


18-15.]  NOMINATION  OF  MR.  DICKINSON.  529 

The  caucus  again  refused  to  adjourn  by  the  same  vote 
as  before,  whereupon  a  ballot  was  had  with  the  follow- 
ing result : — for  D.  S.  Dickinson  54,  Michael  Hoffman 
13,  F.  G.  Jewett  3,  Samuel  Nelson  1,  blanks  4. 

On  the  motion  to  make  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Dick- 
inson unanimous,  Mr.  T.  R.  Lee  made  a  speech  in  op- 
position to  it.  To  this  Mr.  Seymour  made  a  forcible 
and  eloquent  reply.  Towards  the  close  of  his  speech 
he  appealed  to  those  opposed  to  Mr.  D.'s  nomination 
with  great  effect.  He  said  he  "  appealed  to  them  by  the 
recollections  of  the  recent  common  victory,  by  the  de- 
termination which  then  actuated  our  whole  party  as  one 
man,  under  the  feeling  that  we  were  contending  for 
common  principles  and  in  a  common  cause." 

In  the  end  the  nomination  was  declared  unanimous  by 
the  votes  of  fifty- four  members,  one  senator,  Mr.  Johnson, 
voting  in  the  negative,  and  several  of  the  radicals  re- 
fusing to  vote  at  all.  The  session  of  the  caucus  was 
protracted  till  twelve  o'clock.  A  hunker,  then  a  mem- 
ber of  the  legislature,  has  informed  the  author  that  "af- 
ter the  caucus  an  effort  was  made  by  the  whigs  to  induce 
the  barnburners  to  unite  with  them  in  the  legislature, 
and  nominate  Col.  Young  to  the  senate  instead  of  Mr. 
Dickinson.  Meetings  were  held  for  that  purpose,  and 
some  progress  was  made  towards  effecting  such  an  ar- 
rangement. The  senators  from  the  sixth  district  (Messrs. 
Faulkner,  Chamberlain,  Burnham,  and  Beers)  hearing 
of  this  movement  called  upon  Gov.  Wright,  and  formal- 
ly invited  his  attention  to  it.  The  governor  then  inter- 
fered, and  the  effort  was  dropped."  Although  we  have 
full  confidence  in  the  veracity  of  the  correspondent  from 
whom  the  above  quotation  is  made,  it  is  due  to  Colonel 
Young  to  state  that  the  author  happened  to  be  in  Albany 
34 


530  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845, 

a  day  or  two  after  the  caucus,  that  he  heard  a  rumor  of 
the  negotiations  alluded  to  by  our  correspondent,  and 
that  in  a  casual  conversation  with  Col.  Young,  he  de- 
clared that  he  would  not,  under  any  circumstances,  be 
a  candidate  in  opposition  to  the  caucus  nomination  ;  and 
we  think  he  mentioned  that  the  suggestion  had  been  made 
to  him,  and  he  had  peremptorily  refused.  We  submit 
one  other  remark.  We  think  our  correspondent  ascribes 
too  much  effect  to  the  interference  of  Gov.  Wright.  On 
this  subject  we  have  the  following  facts  from  a  source 
perfectly  reliable.  On  Monday  evening,  after  the  state 
officers  had  been  chosen  as  nominated  in  caucus,  about 
twenty  radical  members  met  to  determine  how  they 
should  act  in  relation  to  the  senators,  who  were  the  next 
day  to  be  chosen.  Many  of  the  radicals  contended  that 
the  caucus  was  not  binding ;  but  Dennison,  Lester,  and 
Porter  went  to  the  caucus,  and  labored  there  until  they 
dissuaded  them  from  making  any  opposition.  This  was 
done  at  the  request  of  Gov.  Wright. 

About  this  time  communications  were  made  by  Mr. 
Polk  to  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Mr.  Wright  severally, 
stating  that  he  (Mr.  Polk)  had  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  either  the  jState  or  the  treasury  department  should  be 
committed  to  the  charge  of  a  citizen  of  the  state  of  New 
York.  We  do  not  know  that  it  was  expressly  men- 
tioned in  these  communications,  but  we  have  reason  to 
believe  that  their  tenor  was  such  that  both  Mr.  Van 
Buren  and  Mr.  Wright  inferred,  that  the  selection  of  a 
citizen  to  preside  over  one  of  these  departments  would 
be  made  in  pursuance  of  the  recommendation  of  these 
gentlemen  and  their  friends.  Mr.  Wright,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, believed  that  the  arrangements  indicated  by  the 
president  elect  had  been  definitively  fixed  upon  and  set- 


1845.]  PRESIDENTIAL  APPOINTMENTS.  531 

tied  at  Washington,  and  therefore  he  was  the  more  anx- 
ious to  prevent  any  open  collision  among  the  democratic 
members  of  the  legislature  ;  and  he  also  might  have 
been  apprehensive  that  a  contest  in  the  legislature  about 
the  choice  of  a  senator  would  afford  a  demonstration 
that  the  radicals,  who  constituted  that  section  of  the 
democratic  party  \vhich  the  public  chose  to  consider  as 
peculiarly  his  friends,  were  in  the  minority;  or  if  in  the 
majority,  that  that  majority  was  very  small,  and  that 
hence  his  standing  in  his  own  state  would  be  regarded 
by  his  friends  abroad  as  unstable  and  impaired.  Our 
radical  correspondent  from  Albany  further  states,  that 
"it  was  believed  if  the  cabinet  should  be  formed  in  the 
manner  indicated  by  Mr.  Polk,  if  Mr.  Dickinson  should 
be  elected  he  would  be  obliged  to  fall  into  the  support 
of  the  administration  or  go  with  the  opposition,  which 
would  render  him  powerless." 

These  considerations,  in  connection  with  the  anxious 
desire  of  Mr.  Wright  to  harmonize  the  two  sections  of 
the  democratic  party,  surely  furnished  sufficient  reason 
for  his  interference  to  prevent  any  opposition,  by  the 
democratic  members,  to  the  election  of  Mr.  Dickinson 
after  his  nomination  in  caucus. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Mr.  Wright,  soon  after  the  re- 
ceipt of  Mr.  Folk's  communication,  recommended  that 
in  case  the  secretary  of  state  should  be  taken  from  New 
York,  Mr.  Butler  should  be  selected ;  and  in  case  the 
treasury  department  should  be  assigned  to  a  citizen  of 
this  state,  Mr.  Flagg  should  be  appointed  to  that  office. 
The  president,  nevertheless,  tendered  the  appointment 
of  secretary  of  the  treasury  to  Mr.  Wright  himself;  but 
he  was  so  situated  that  even  if  he  had  desired  the  office, 
he  could  not  honorably  accept  it. 


532  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 


Before  the  gubernatorial  election  it  had  been 
by  the  whigs,  as  an  objection  to  Mr.  Wright,  that  should 
he  be  elected  his  election  would  be  of  no  use  to  his  friends  ; 
for  if  Mr.  Polk  should  be  chosen  president,  Mr.  Wright 
would  be  selected  to  preside  over  one  of  the  national  ex- 
ecutive departments,  and  would  immediately  abandon  the 
administration  of  the  state  government  to  the  lieutenant- 
governor.  In  consequence  of  these  allegations,  Mr. 
Wright  repeatedly  pledged  himself,  that  if  elected  gov- 
ernor he  would  not  accept  of  any  office  in  the  general 
government.  .  These  declarations,  although  they  may 
not  have  been  known  to  Mr.  Polk,  must  have  been 
known  at  Washington  before  the  offer  we  have  men- 
tioned was  made  to  Mr.  Wright.  But.  be  that  as  it  may, 
Mr.  Wright  promptly  declined  the  appointment. 

Mr.  Polk  then  tendered  to  Mr.  Butler  the  office  of 
secretary  of  war.  To  the  letter  containing  this  propo- 
sition Mr.  Butler  replied,  that  if  it  had  accorded  with 
the  arrangements  of  the  president  to  appoint  him  secre- 
tary of  state,  or  of  the  treasury,  he  should,  though  with 
some  reluctance,  have  accepted  either,  but  that  he  could 
not  undertake  the  charge  of  the  war  department  ;  that 
the  duties  to  be  performed  by  the  secretary  of  war 
would  lead  him  so  far  from  the  line  of  his  profession,  (a 
profession  he  wns  not  prepared  to  abandon,)  that  the  at- 
tempt to  resume,  successfully,  its  practice,  would  be  ut- 
terly hopeless  ;  but  that  the  duties  incident  to  either  of 
the  other  departments  to  be  performed  were  nearly  al- 
lied to  those  of  the  profession  to  which  his  attention  and 
Hfe  had  been  principally  devoted,  and  therefore  the 
charge  of  one  of  them  would  be  less  objectionable. 

Previous  to  or  about  the  time  of  the  close  of  this  cor- 
respondence between  Messrs.  Polk,  Van  Buren,  Wright, 


1845.]  MR.   MARCY,  SECRETARY  OF  WAR.  533 

and  Butler,  the  friends  of  Gov.  Marcy  prepared  a  letter 
addressed  to  Mr.  Polk,  signed,  as  is  alleged,  by  a  major- 
ity of  the  democratic  members  of  the  legislature,*  re- 
questing, that  in  case  a  New  Yorker  should  be  called  to 
the  cabinet,  Mr.  Marcy  should  be  selected  for  that  place. 
This  recommendation  was  successful,  and  Gov.  Marcy 
was  made  secretary  of  war. 

We  have,  on  a  former  occasion,  expressed  a  high 
opinion  of  Mr.  Marcy.  That  opinion  is  not  changed. 
The  able  and  satisfactory  manner  with  which  he  had  for 
a  long  time  administered  the  government  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  the  distinguished  ability  with  which  he  had 
executed  all  other  trusts  which  had  been  confided  to 
him,  and  his  acknowledged  talents,  rendered  his  appoint- 
ment as  one  of  the  national  secretaries  creditable  to  the 
president.  And  yet,  when  we  reflect  on  the  immense 
obligations  which  Mr.  Polk  and  the  democratic  party  in 
the  nation  were  under  to  Mr.  Wright,  and  we  may  add 
Mr.  Butler  and  other  friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  in- 
deed to  Mr.  Vaq  Buren  himself, — when  it  is  recollected 
that  the  New  York  delegation,  consisting  of  the  friends 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  made  Mr.  Polk  the  presidential  can- 
didate,— when  the  pledges  made  at  the  Baltimore  Con- 
vention are  called  to  mind, — when  we  reflect  that  Mr. 
Wright,  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  quiet  and  his  most  fondly 
cherished  predilections,  was  the  admitted  cause  of  the 
triumph  of  Mr.  Polk  at  the  late  election, — and  when  it  is 
considered  that  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Marcy  was  not 
only  against  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Wright  and  his  friends, 
but  that  they  earnestly  urged  in  vain  the  appointment  of 
Mr.  Flagg  or  Mr.  Butler,  as  the  representative  of  New 


*  All  the  signers  of  this  letter  were  probably  hunker* 


534  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

York  in  the  national  cabinet,  is  it  surprising  that  the  ap- 
pointment of  even  Governor  Marcy  should  have  been 
regarded  by  the  radical  party  with  disfavor,  and  with 
some  feeling  of  resentment  ? 

The  hunkers  had  good  reason  to  congratulate  them- 
selves on  their  success.  When  the  session  commenced, 
their  opponents  were  about  equal  to  them  in  number.4;, 
and  had  the  benefit  of  the  great  influence  of  Governor 
Wright  in  the  state  and  nation,  and  all  the  state  officers  ; 
and  yet  they  had  procured  the  election  of  the  speaker, 
one-half  of  the  state  officers,  and  a  senator  of  the  United 
States  for  nearly  seven  years  to  come ;  they  had  pro- 
cured the  appointment  of  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  and  had  stationed,  in  the  national 
cabinet,  an  able,  efficient,  and  confidential  friend,  of 
great  talents  and  superior  tact  and  address.  This  ex- 
traordinary success  was  undoubtedly  owing  (for  we  do 
not  speak  of  the  merits,  so  far  as  regards  principle,  of 
either  party)  in  part,  and  perhaps  in  a  great  degree,  to 
the  skill,  address,  and  management  of  two  men, — we 
mean  Horatio  Seymour  and  Edwin  Croswell ;  but  was 
it  not  also  in  part  caused  by  a  plan  concocted  at  Wash- 
ington in  regard  to  the  successor  of  Mr.  Polk,  adverse 
to  the  views  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Mr.  Wright  ?  Did 
not  the  far-seeing  politicians  of  the  South  reason  at  that 
time,  as  they  did  at  the  Baltimore  Convention  ?  The 
future  political  history  of  this  country  will  furnish  the 
answers  to  these  questions.* 

*  This  was  written  iu  March,  1848. 


1845.")  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION.  535 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Opinions  of  the  Hunker  and  Radical  Members  of  the  Legislature  of  1845 
on  the  subject  of  the  necessity  of  a  Constitutional  Convention — Differ- 
ent views  of  the  Hunkers,  Radicals,  and  Whigs  on  that  subject — Char- 
acter of  John  Young — Amendments  to  the  Constitution  proposed  by 
the  Legislature  of  1844,  and  approved  by  the  Electors  at  the  Novem- 
ber election  of  that  year — Action  of  the  Whig  Members  of  the  Legis- 
lature on  those  Amendments — Circumstances  which  led  to  the  passage 
of  a  Convention  Bill — Final  passage  of  the  Bill  in  the  Assembly — De- 
bate on  that  occasion — Proceedings  in  the  Senate  on  the  Convention 
Bill — Its  final  passage  in  that  House — Passage  of  the  Canal  Bill — la 
vetoed  by  the  Governor — Resignation  of  Judge  Kent,  and  appointment 
of  Judge  Edmonds  as  Circuit  Judge  of  the  First  Circuit 

THE  session  of  1845  was  an  exciting  one,  not  only  on 
account  of  the  numerous  and  important  appointments 
which  were  made  by  the  legislature,  but  also  on  account 
of  the  discussion  and  decision  upon  the  project  of  a  con- 
vention to  revise  the  constitution,  and  of  the  passage 
through  both  houses  of  the  canal  bill,  and  the  governor's 
veto  of  it. 

It  may  be  safely  asserted,  that  when  the  subject  of  a 
convention  was  first  agitated,  the  hunkers  were  opposed 
to  any  convention,  and  with  them,  on  this  question, 
many  of  the  leading  radicals  concurred.  They  proba- 
bly reasoned  in  this  way  :  "  There  are,  it  is  true,  a  few 
alterations  which  ought  to  be  made  in  the  constitutional 
law  in  relation  to  the  judiciary,  and  in  some  other  re- 
spects, but  these  amendments  can  be  made  in  a  consti- 
tutional way,  if  indeed  they  are  called  for  by  that  strong 
current  of  public  opinion,  without  the  evidence  of  the 


,r)3G  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

existence  of  which  the  great  charter  of  our  liberties  and 
civil  institutions  ought  not  to  be  touched.  As  a  meas- 
ure of  party  policy,  it  is  perfectly  absurd.  We  have 
now  the  whole  judiciary  ;  and  the  appointing  power, 
both  executive  and  legislative,  is  now  in  our  hands,  and 
likely  to  remain  so.  We,  therefore,  can,  by  no  possibil- 
ity, gain  any  thing,  but  may  lose  much." 

But  there  was  undoubtedly  a  portion  of  the  radicals, 
among  whom  we  may  safely  reckon  Mr.  Hoffman,  Col. 
Young,  and  Col.  Grain,  who  believed  in  the  absolute 
necessity  of  making  the  substance  of  the  act  of  1842  a 
part  of  the  constitution  ;  and  they  believed  this  measure 
to  be  so  highly  important  as  to  be  paramount  to  all 
others.  Hence  the  message  of  the  governor  was  dis- 
liked by  the  radicals  ;  for  although  Mr.  Wright  in  his 
message  admitted  that  a  necessity  for  a  convention 
might  exist,  the  fair  inference  from  his  remarks  on  that 
subject  is,  that  in  his  judgment  such  necessity  did  not 
then  exist.* 

Radical  whigs,  who  constituted  a  large  majority  of 
the  whig  party,  believed  that  some  amendments  ought 
to  be  made  to  the  constitution,  and  they  preferred  ma- 
king those  amendments  through  the  agency  of  a  con- 
vention, than  by  the  mode  provided  in  the  existing  con- 
stitution. They  had  nothing  to  lose  by  the  agitation 
which  might  be  produced  by  a  convention,  and  might 
gain  much.  Viewed  as  a  question  of  party  policy,  their 
condition  was  precisely  the  reverse  of  the  democrats. 
This  the  leaders  of  the  radical  whigs  saw  most  clearly, 


*  After  the  message  was  written,  Gov.  Wright  invited  Gov.  Marcy, 
Mr.  Croswell,  and  Chief-Justice  Bronson,  to  meet  with  the  state  officers 
at  the  reading  of  it.  The  convention  question  was  iiot,  on  that  occasion, 
discussed  or  mentioned. 


1645.]  CONSTITUtlONAL  CONVENTION.  537 

and  therefore  seized  the  occasion  to  avail  themselves  of 
all  the  advantages  their  position  afforded. 

The  Native  Americans  also  desired  some  alterations 
in  the  constitution,  particularly  in  relation  to  the  eligi- 
bility to  office  of  adopted  citizens,  and  they  also  reasoned 
like  the  whigs,  that  they  could  lose  nothing,  and  might 
by  possibility  gain  something  by  a  convention,  and  there- 
fore favored  the  project. 

Of  all  the  members  who  supported  the  bill  for  calling 
a  convention,  vested  with  unrestricted  powers,  the  anti- 
renters  were  probably  the  most  sincere.  They  could 
not  anticipate  any  effectual  relief  from  the  evils  of  which 
they  complained,  without  some  radical  alteration  of  the 
fundamental  law,  and  they  therefore  approached  the 
convention  question  with  great  and  no  doubt  honest  zeal. 

It  would  appear  from  the  vote  on  the  speaker  ques- 
tion that  the  natives,  anti-renters,  and  whigs  amounted 
in  the  aggregate  to  sixty  in  number.  The  democrats 
therefore,  when  united,  held  but  a  small  majority  over  all 
the  other  parties  in  the  house,  if  on  any  occasion  they 
should  choose  to  combine. 

JOHN  YOUNG,  the  present  governor,  is  perhaps  one  of 
the  most  sagacious  politicians  who  ever  took  part  in  the 
political  contests  of  this  state.  With  talents  of  a  high 
order,  industry,  patient  perseverance,  a  profound  know- 
ledge of  men,  he  was  one  of  the  ablest  party  leaders  and 
most  skilful  managers  in  a  popular  body  that  ever  en- 
tered the  assembly  chamber ;  quick  to  perceive  when 
and  how  an  advantage  might  be  gained  over  an  adverse 
party,  he  was  ready  and  prompt  to  seize  it ;  but  no  man 
could  wait  more  quietly  for  the  arrival  of  the  proper 
time  for  action  than  he.  He  not  only  wished  to  effect 
the  passage  of  a  law  recommending  a  convention,  but 


538  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

he  wished  that  such  law  should  be  passed  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  it  could  be  claimed  as  a  whig  measure.  To  do 
this  it  became  necessary  to  avail  himself  of  the  division 
among  the  democratic  members,  and  he,  by  the  aid  of 
Mr.  Worden,  an  able  and  eloquent  member  from  Onta- 
rio, pursued  his  object  with  most  consummate  skill  and 
address. 

We  will  conclude  our  remarks  upon  the  character  of 
Mr.  Young  by  quoting  from  a  letter  written  by  a  dem- 
ocratic member  of  the  legislature  to  the  author : 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  give  you  a  well-defined 
sketch  of  the  character  and  position  of  Gov.  Young. 
There  are  peculiarities  in  both  which  are  difficult  to 
describe.  He  is  courteous  and  gentlemanly  in  his  man- 
ners,, and  intelligent  and  interesting  in  conversation 
He  appears  to  the  best  advantage  in  a  deliberative  body, 
and  when  he  comes  in  immediate  contact  with  those 
upon  whom  he  wishes  to  act.  He  is  an  admirable  de- 
bater, and  carefully  avoids  weakening  the  interest  with 
which  he  is  heard,  by  speaking  too  diffusely  or  too  fre- 
quently. Possessed  of  a'good  voice,  a  fine  imagination, 
and  an  earnest  and  persuasive  style  of  speaking,  he  al- 
ways attracts  and  holds  the  attention  of  his  audience. 
He  is  cool,  cautious,  and  steady  in  the  pursuit  of  his  ob- 
jects. In  the  winter  of  1845,  he  displayed  great  skill  and 
tact  in  procuring  the  passage  of  the  bill  for  the  conven- 
tion, in  such  a  form,  and  under  such  circumstances,  that 
it  had  the  aspect  of  a  whig  measure,  while  at  the  same 
time  he  prevented  any  union  of  the  democratic  mem- 
bers upon  its  form  and  provisions.  His  efforts  during  this 
session  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  whig  party,  at  the 
same  time  that  they  paved  the  way  for  his  promotion  by 
reviving  the  spirit  of  the  whigs,  which  had  been  crushed 


1315.]  CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENTS.  539 

by  the  recent  election,  and  by  dividing  and  weakening 
the  democratic  party.  In  his  intercourse  with  men  he 
shows  great  tact  and  cunning,  and  he  strives  to  adapt 
himself  to  the  sentiments  and  feelings  of  the  day,  rather 
than  to  impress  his  own  convictions  upon  others." 

The  preceding  legislature  had  proposed  several  amend- 
ments to  the  constitution,  which  had  at  the  last  election 
been  approved  by  the  people,  and  which  now  required  two- 
thirds  of  the  votesof  the  membersof  the  present  legislature 
to  constitute  such  amendments  a  part  of  the  constitution. 

The  first  proposed  amendment  was  to  incorporate 
substantially  into  the  constitution  the  act  of  1842. 

The  second  restricted  the  power  of  the  legislature  to 
create  debts,  or  loan  the  credit  of  the  state. 

The  third,  that  no  property  qualification  should  be  re- 
quired to  render  a  citizen  eligible  to  hold  any  office  or 
public  trust. 

The  fourth,  to  prevent  the  removal  of  any  judicial  offi- 
cer without  cause. 

The  fifth,  to  add  three  associate  chancellors  to  the 
Court  of  Chancery. 

The  sixth,  to  add  two  justices  to  the  Supreme  Court. 

These  resolutions  were  all  passed  in  the  senate  by  the 
affirmative  votes  of  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  mem- 
bers of  that  body. 

In  order  to  render  the  call  of  a  convention  indispen- 
sable, it  was  necessary  that  these  amendments,  or  some 
of  those  which  were  deemed  material  by  the  radical 
democrats,  should  be  rejected.  At  this  point  Mr.  Young 
commenced  his  labors ;  and  when  the  amendments  came 
up  for  consideration,  all  of  them,  except  the  third  and 
fourth,  were  rejected,  there  being  from  61  to  63  votes 
in  their  favor,  and  from  50  to  56  against  them.  If  we 


540  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

are  not  mistaken  in  our  examination  of  the  journal,  every 
whig  member  voted  in  the  negative.  The  amendments 
were  therefore  lost  for  the  want  of  a  two-third  vote. 
So  far  then  the  coast  was  clear.  Still  formidable  diffi- 
culties presented  themselves.  The  speaker  had  formed 
a  committee  on  amendments  to  the  constitution,  a  ma- 
jority of  whom  were  opposed  to  a  convention.  That 
committee  consisted  of  Messrs.  Comstock,  Russell,  Niv- 
en.  Bailey,  L.  H.  Brown,  Worden,  and  Morrison ; 
Messrs.  Bailey,  Worden,  and  L.  H.  Brown  being  the 
only  persons  on  the  committee  who  were  in  favor  of  a 
convention.  No  bill  for  a  convention  therefore  could 
be  expected  from  a  committee  thus  constituted.  If  a 
bill  should  be  brought  in  by  a  whig  member  on  his  own 
motion,  it  would,  in  all  probability,  induce  the  combined 
and  united  opposition  of  the  democratic  party.  Messrs. 
Young  and  Worden  were  therefore  fain  to  wait  until 
one  of  the  radical  members  should  think  proper  to  intro- 
duce such  a  bill. 

An  accidental  circumstance  hastened  the  event  which 
these  gentlemen  so  much  desired. 

We  have  heretofore  mentioned  the  appointment  of 
Chief-justice  Nelson  to  the  office  of  associate  judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  This  pro- 
duced a  vacancy  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  ot 
this  state.  Mr.  Grain  applied  to  Gov.  Wright  to  give 
the  place  to  Mr.  Hoffman  ;  but  the  governor  nominated 
F.  G.  Jewitt,  of  Onondaga,  at  present  a  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals.  After  ascertaining  this  result,  Mr. 
Grain  went  to  visit  his  friends  in  Herkimer  county.  He 
found  his  constituents  dejected  and  displeased.  Nothing 
had  been  done  for  Mr.  Hoffman.  Nothing  in  relation 
to  a  convention.  Mr.  Marcy  had  been  made  secretary 


1845.]  CONVENTION  BILL  541 

of  war,  and  Mr.  N.  S.  Benton,  secretary  of  state  of  the 
state  of  New  York.  All  these  measures  were  directly 
against  the  views  and  wishes  of  the  radicals  of  Herki- 
mer, who  composed  a  large  majority  of  his  constituents. 
He  therefore,  by  the  advice  of  his  friends  in  Herkimer, 
resolved,  immediately  on  his  return  to  the  assembly,  to 
introduce  a  bill  for  calling  a  convention.  When  he  ar- 
rived in  Albany,  he  applied  to  DUDLEY  BURWKLL,  Esq., 
an  able  lawyer  of  that  city,  to  draw  the  proposed  bill; 
and  the  bill  which  Mr.  Grain  afterwards  introduced  into 
the  assembly,  and  which  ultimately  passed  into  a  law, 
was  in  fact  drawn  by  Mr.  Burwell. 

This  bill  was  on  the  13th  of  March  referred  to  the 
committee  on  constitutional  amendments,  which  has  al- 
ready been  mentioned.  They  met  from  time  to  time, 
and  adjourned  without  taking  any  definite  action  on  it. 
The  hunker  democrats,  after  the  constitutional  amend- 
ments were  lost,  became  convinced  that  a  convention 
was  inevitable  ;  and  they  felt  it  important,  and  there- 
fore were  extremely  anxious,  that  such  a  bill  should  be 
presented  as  would  unite  the  whole  democratic  party  in 
its  support.  Before,  however,  any  particular  plan  of  a 
convention  bill  was  agreed  upon  by  the  two  sections  of 
the  democratic  party,  Mr.  Young,  on  a  certain  day 
when  so  many  of  the  democrats  were  absent  as  to  leave 
their  opponents  nearly  equal  to  them  in  numbers,  moved 
that  the  select  committee,  to  whom  Mr.  Grain's  bill  had 
been  referred,  should  report  it  to  the  house  on  a  certain 
day  mentioned  in  the  resolution,  and  then  that  it  be 
made  a  special  order  at  12  o'clock  each  day  until  it  was 
disposed  of.  Messrs.  Grain  and  Buel  of  Herkimer,  and 
Mr.  Ghace  of  Tioga,  voted  with  the  whigs  for  this  mo- 
tion, and  it  was  carried.  Gov.  Wright  became  alarmed. 


542  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

and  sent  for  Col.  Grain,  and  held  a  long  conversation 
with  him  on  the  subject.  Mr.  C.  told  the  governor  that 
he  was  acting  in  pursuance  of  the  advice  of  Mr.  Hoff- 
man and  Judge  Loornis,  and  others  of  his  constituents, 
and  that  he  should  make  all  reasonable  efforts  to  ensure 
the  passage  of  the  bill  in  the  assembly.  Subsequent  to 
this  Messrs.  Hoffman  and  Loomis,  at  the  request  of  Mr. 
Wright,  visited  Albany.  Various  consultations  were 
held  among  the  leading  and  influential  democratic  poli- 
ticians, as  well  as  one  or  two  legislative  caucuses,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  fix  on  a  bill  which  would  unite 
the  whole  democratic  vote.  No  doubt  a  considerable 
number  of  the  members  were  at  heart  honestly  opposed 
to  any  convention.  Prudent  and  discreet  men  foresaw 
that  the  passage  of  a  bill  for  that  purpose  would  render 
elections  necessary  which  would  involve  the  fate  of  the 
party.  It  was  well  known  to  the  whigs,  as  well  as  to 
Col.  Grain  and  Mr.  Bailey,  that  the  hunkers  would  vote 
against  any  convention  bill  unless  it  contained  a  provision 
that  the  question  whether  a  convention  should  be  called, 
should  be  submitted  to  the  people,  and  voted  for  by  a  ma- 
jority of  them,  taking  as  a  test  the  number  of  votes  given  at 
the  last  election ;  and  further,  that  the  amendments  which 
should  be  proposed  by  the  convention  should  be  submit- 
ted separately  to  the  people.  These  amendments  to  Mr. 
Grain's  bill  were  approved  of  by  Gov.  Wright  and  some 
of  his  radical  friends  in  the  assembly.  Col.  Grain  and 
Mr.  Bailey  (we  name  those  gentlemen,  because  we  sup- 
pose they  represented  those  radicals  who  were  deter- 
mined at  all  events  to  have  a  convention)  knew  that  if 
those  amendments  were  adopted  the  whole  whig  vote 
would  be  cast  against  the  bill,  and  they  should  be  left  in 
the  power  of  the  hunkers,  and  must  either  be  controlled 


1845.]  CONVENTION   BILL.  543 

by  them  or  abandon  the  bill.  They  had  no  suspicion 
that  Mr.  Seymour,  and  other  leading  hunkers,  would  act 
with  bad  faith,  but  they  suspected  that  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  hunker  section  of  the  party  would,  from  an 
honest  conviction  that  a  convention  was  unnecessary, 
vote  against  the  bill,  and  that  the  votes  of  that  portion,  in 
connection  with  the  votes  of  all  the  whigs,  would  prevent 
the  passage  of  any  such  bill.  They  feared  too,  that  if  the 
clause  requiring  a  majority  of  votes  of  the  people,  taking 
the  test  proposed  by  the  hunkers,  should  be  incorporated 
in  the  bill,  insidious  efforts  would  be  successfully  made 
to  prevent  so  many  of  the  electors  from  voting  as  would 
defeat  the  object  of  the  bill.  These  apprehensions,  and 
it  may  be  jealousies,  were  encouraged  and  fostered  by 
the  whigs.  A  correspondent,  who  was  an  active  hun- 
ker member  of  the  assembly,  states  "  that  two  private 
caucuses  were  held  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  on 
these  amendments,  and  that  two-thirds  of  the  democratic 
members,  including  Messrs.  Russell  and  Hazeltine  from 
St.  Lawrence,  were  in  favor  of  the  amendments,  and  I 
think  the  others  would  have  been  induced  to  yield  but  for 
an  accident.  After  the  caucus,  when  the  assembly  met, 
it  was  discovered,  that  in  consequence  of  the  absence 
of  some  of  the  democratic  members,  the  whigs  were  in 
the  majority.  Messrs.  Young  and  Worden  availed 
themselves  of  their  temporary  power,  and  passed  a  res- 
olution directing  the  committee  having  the  bill  in  charge 
to  report  the  same  to  the  house  as  it  was  introduced  by 
Mr.  Grain,  and  without  amendment.  This  prevented  the 
committee  from  modifying  it,  and  cut  off  any  negotia- 
tions for  that  purpose.  When  the  bill  was  before  the 
house,  Mr.  Grain  and  others  resisted  all  changes,  and 
forced  the  majority  of  the  democrats  to  vote  against  it, 


544  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

they  having  declared  that  they  regarded  the  majority 
vote  and  separate  amendments  as  principles  which  they 
could  not  waive.  The  following  vote  will  show  the 
state  of  parties. 

"  On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Hazeltine,  of  St.  Lawrence,  to 
amend  the  bill  so  that  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the 
state  (in  the  manner  above  stated)  should  be  required  to 
vote  for  the  bill  before  a  convention  should  be  called, 
the  vote  stood — 

For  the  amendment,  (all  democrats)  ....   42 

Against  it,  18 

Do.     Whigs  and  Native  Americans, 54 

72 

more  than  two-thirds  of  the  democratic  members  voting 
for  the  amendment." 

Nearly  the  same  result  was  produced  on  the  motion 
of  Mr.  Russell,  of  St.  Lawrence,  to  amend  the  bill  so 
that  the  amendments  to  the  constitution  should  be  sub- 
mitted separately  to  the  people.  Forty-two  democrats 
and  four  whigs  voted  for  Mr.  Russell's  motion,  and  30 
democrats  and  53  whigs  and  Native  Americans  against 
it.  On  the  final  passage  of  the  bill  there  were  83  votes 
in  the  affirmative,  and  33  (all  hunker  democrats)  in  the 
negative. 

During  the  progress  of  this  bill  in  the  assembly  if 
elicited  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  best,  specimens  of  par- 
liamentary discussion  ever  exhibited  in  the  capital  of  the 
state.  The  debate,  though  conducted  with  the  most 
commendable  courtesy,  called  into  action  all  the  intel- 
lectual power  of  the  distinguished  members  of  the  house. 
Messrs.  John  Young,  Worden,  Seymour,  Comstock, 
J.  Leslie  Russell,  Bailey,  and  T.  II.  Lee,  besides  many 


1845.]  CONSTITUTIONAL  AMENDMENTS.  545 

others,  severally  delivered  able  and  eloquent  speeches. 
The  discussion  not  only  presented  "  a  keen  encounter  of 
wits,"  but  a  war  of  highly  cultivated  minds,  which  must 
have  afforded  a  rich  intellectual  repast  to  all  men  of 
taste  who  heard  it.  Those  debates,  if  preserved,  and 
they  ought  to  be,  may  be  read  at  any  future  time  with 
profit  and  high  mental  enjoyment  and  pleasure.  If  our 
limits  would  permit,  and  our  sheets  were  not  crowded  with 
matter  essential  to  preserve  the  chain  of  our  narrative, 
we  would  insert  copies  of  these  speeches  ;  but  restricted 
as  we  are,  we  will  mention  that  the  speeches  of  Mr. 
Young,  as  reported  in  the  Evening  Journal,  and  those 
of  Mr.  Seymour,  as  given  in  the  Argus,  strike  us  as  dis- 
playing remarkable  tact,  ingenuity,  and  eloquence. 

Mr.  Seymour,  with  great  skill  and  ability,  labored  to 
show  that  if  those  who  required  amendments  to  the  con- 
stitution, and  he  admitted  that  some  highly  important 
ones  were  necessary,  would  unite,  those  amendments 
might  be  submitted  to  the  people  by  the  legislature 
without  resorting  to  a  convention. 

"  The  proposed  amendments  before  the  committee," 
said  Mr.  S.,  "only  require  the  support  of  those  who 
complain  of  the  difficulty  of  amending  the  constitution 
in  the  constitutional  way,  to  carry  them  to  the  people 
for  their  sanction.  In  this  case,  there  are  no  obstacles 
except  those  interposed  by  the  gentlemen  themselves." 

If  gentlemen  wished  to  restrict  the  power  of  the  legis- 
lature to  create  state  indebtedness,  Mr.  Seymour  was 
willing  to  sustain  them  in  proposing  an  amendment  to 
the  people  which  would  afford'  an  effectual  guard  against 
the  exercise  of  that  power.  "But,"  said  Mr.  S.,  "I  ap- 
prehend there  is  another  reason  why  certain  gentlemen 
desire  a  convention,  which  it  is  proper  to  allude  to, 
35 


546  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

though  I  shall  do  so  in  a  manner  as  little  offensive  as 
possible.  There  is  reason  for  suspicion  when  a  great 
party  has  been  overthrown,  when  the  country  has  repu- 
diated its  principles,  and  it  seeks  to  change  its  position, 
and  produce  a  new  order  of  things  that  may  be  more 
favorable  to  its  designs  and  objects.  The  gentleman  from 
Ontario  remarked,  that  though  the  gentleman  from  New 
York  had  put  forth  sentiments  which  he  deemed  obnox- 
ious to  censure,  yet  that  the  whig  party  was  not  respon- 
sible for  them.  Let  us  see,"  said  the  speaker,  "  if  this 
is  so.  The  gentleman  from  Livingston  said  that  the 
condition  of  our  judiciary  amounted  to  a  denial  of  jus- 
tice— that  our  courts  are  blocked  up.  We  tender  him 
amendments,  and  he  rejects  them.  We  tell  that  gentle- 
man and  his  friends  that  if  he  desires  to  reform  our  judi- 
ciary, we  go  with  you.  We  are  ready  to  carry  out  any 
reasonable  and  feasible  scheme.  Do  they  accept  these 
propositions  ?  No,  sir.  They  say,  throw  open  the  ten- 
ures of  property,  the  elective  franchise,  religious  liberty, 
every  thing  settled  by  our  constitution." 

On  the  9th  of  April  Mr.  Young  replied  to  the  argu- 
ments of  Mr.  Seymour  and  others.  He  intimated  that 
the  senate,  as  a  court  of  errors,  ought  to  be  abolished. 
The  amendments  did  not  provide  against  that  griev- 
ance ;  and  if  an  amendment  on  that  subject,  such  as  he 
desired,  and,  as  he  believed,  the  public  demanded,  were 
proposed,  who  believed  that  two-thirds  of  that  court 
would  ever  consent  to  its  abolition?  He  also  stated 
that  the  proposed  amendments  did  not  restrict  executive 
patronage.  Was  it  to  be  expected  that  two-thirds  of 
the  legislature  could  be  induced,  with  all  the  patronage 
of  the  existing  executive,  whoever  he  might  be,  against 
it,  to  recommend  such  a  measure  ?  He  highly  compli- 


1845.]  SPEECH  OF  MR.  YOUNG.  547 

merited  Mr.  Grain  for  bringing  in  his  bill,  and  for  the 
firm  and  decided  stand  he  had  taken. 

Mr.  Young  concluded  his  speech  by  the  following 
eloquent  denunciation  of  acting  from  party  motives  on 
constitutional  questions : 

"One  more  consideration,  and  I  will  yield  the  floor. 
The  gentleman  said  he  was  in  favor  of  retaining  this  in- 
strument in  its  present  form,  because  it  had  sustained  for 
sixteen  years,  with  the  exception  of  two  administrations, 
the  party  to  which  he  belongs.  I  am  not  in  favor  of  any 
constitution  because  it  tends  to  sustain  any  particular 
party  organization,  and  which  looks  to  party  for  protec- 
tion, and  I  cannot  believe  that  he  is  in  its  favor  for  such 
reason.  Will  he  say  again,  that  because  the  '  demo- 
cratic' party,  as  he  calls  it,  though  I  do  not  acknowledge 
it  to  be  such,  has  sustained  itself  for  sixteen  years,  that 
is  the  reason  why  he  would  not  alter  the  constitution  ? 
Has  it  come  to  this  ? — that  a  statesman,  learned,  intelli- 
gent, distinguished,  familiar  with  questions  of  constitu- 
tional law,  in  open  day,  not  only  acts  from  such  motives, 
but  tears  off  the  mask  and  tells  the  world  that  we  are  to 
make  a  constitution  in  reference  to  party  adrantages  ? 
He  surely  cannot  mean  this.  Let  him  ask  the  hard- 
working and  intelligent  mechanic,  what  is  the  purpose 
of  a  constitution  ;  will  he  reply  that  such  is  its  object  ? 
Ask  the  farmer — the  bone  and  sinew  of  the  country — 
as  in  the  soft  twilight  of  summer  he  sees  the  lambs  skip- 
ping on  the  green  lawn,  if  it  is  for  party  purposes  that 
he  wants  a  constitution  ?  Or  in  the  autumn,  when  his 
granaries  are  full,  and  he  offers  thanksgivings,  and  what 
will  be  his  answer  ?  I  will  send  the  gentleman  to  his 
farmer  colleague  from  Oneida,  (Mr.  M.  Brooks,)  to  my 
friend  here  from  Madison,  (Mr.  Walrath,)  to  the  farmer 


548  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

from  Jefferson,  (Mr.  Danforth,)  and  to  every  farmer  in 
this  house,  to  ask  them  if  they  are  in  favor  of  a  consti- 
tution because  it  protects  their  party  ?  And  yet,  in  the 
bosom  of  that  gentleman  there  breathes  the  most  gen- 
erous emotions.  Those  hands  have  been  stretched  out 
for  the  relief  of  human  suffering.  It  is  not  the  man,  it 
is  the  party  madness  of  the  day,  a  madness  that,  forget- 
ting the  future,  looks  nol  beyond  the  day.  But  to  those 
men  who  look  to  their  posterity,  and  as  they  see  the 
stream  grow  wider  and  deeper  as  it  flows  on  to  the 
great  ocean  of  the  future,  feel  that  their  blood  there 
flows — I  send  him  there  to  ask,  if  they  would  frame  a 
constitution  to  favor  party  ?  They  will  respond,  we 
would  frame  constitutions  for  ourselves  and  for  our 
children." 

Mr.  Seymour,  in  his  reply  to  Mr.  Young,  reiterated 
and  enlarged  upon  the  positions  he  had  taken  in  his  first 
speech.  He  insisted  that  a  convention  ought  not  to  be 
called  without  the  fiat  of  a  majority  of  the  electors,  and 
that  the  contemplated  amendments  ought  to  be  specified 
in  the  bill.  Alluding  to  Mr.  Young,  Mr.  Seymour  said : 

"  I  listened  the  other  day  with  mingled  feelings  of 
pleasure  and  regret  to  the  very  eloquent  and  able  re- 
marks of  the  gentleman  from  Livingston.  I  listened 
with  admiration  to  the  ability  displayed  by  him — to  his 
beautifully  formed  periods — to  the  tone  of  patriotism 
which  his  conceded  skill  enabled  him  to  impart  to  his 
remarks  ;  yet  I  listened  with  pain  to  some  of  the  de- 
signs— I  will  not  say  avowed,  but  manifested — in  the 
course  of  his  remarks.  I  listened  with  mingled  feelings 
to  the  gilded  but  vicious  sentiments  which  he  put  forth 
on  that  occasion  ;  for  putrescence  sometimes  shines.  T 
watched  with  the  same  feeling  of  admiration  his  skilful 


1845.J  SPEECH  OF  IpR.   SEYMOUR.  649 

attempts  to  galvanize  the  late  whig  party  into  existence, 
to  suck  up  all  the  ill-humors  of  the  body  politic,  in  the 
hope  of  organizing  a  party  that  might  cope  with  the 
great  democratic  party  of  this  state.  I  believe,  with  all 
his  ability  and  ingenuity,  he  will  find  the  attempt  to  be 
futile.  It  was  indeed  an  adroit  effort,  a  skilful  effort,  a 
bold  effort,  to  combine  all  the  elements  of  faction  in  one 
common  bond  of  opposition  to  democratic  principles  and 
the  democratic  party.  He  held  up  anti-rentism  in  such 
terms  of  gentle  reprobation,  that  even  the  representa- 
tives of  that  party  here,  '  blushed  and  owned  the  soft 
impeachment.' " 

Mr.  S.  concluded  by  saying, — "  If  a  bill  can  be  passed 
which  shall  be  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  our 
government — which  shall  recognise  the  doctrine  that  a' 
majority  of  the  people  shall  govern — that  sovereignty 
resides  with  the  people — which  shall,  in  a  fair,  manly, 
and  open  manner,  indicate  the  objects  of  those  who  con- 
tend for  it,  I  shall  be  willing  to  give  it  my  support.  I 
have  reflected  on  the  subject  with  anxiety — feeling  the 
importance  of  this  measure  to  the  well-being  of  OUT 
state.  God  knows  I  have  endeavored  to  act  on  it  solely 
with  a  view  to  the  best  interest  and  highest  happiness  of 
our  common  constituents.  And  to  those  who  differ 
with  me,  I  accord  an  equal  degree  of  consideration — an 
equally  honest  desire  to  promote  the  interests  of  those 
who  have  intrusted  us  with  power.  And  I  will  only 
express  the  hope,  that  in  approaching  this  subject,  all 
pride  of  opinion  will  be  laid  aside — all  personal  and  po- 
litical objects  overlooked — and  that  we  shall  be  actua- 
ted only  by  a  wish  to  consult  the  best  interests  of  the 
great  and  glorious  state  whose  representatives  we  are." 

Messrs.  Bailey  and  Comstock  took  part  in  the  discus- 


550  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

sion,  and  some  pretty  sharp  passages  occurred  between 
them.  Mr.  T.  R.  Lee  also  delivered  an  able  speech 
against  the  convention  bill. 

Mr.  Young's  last  speech  on  this  bill  was  his  best.  In 
his  exordium,  he  mentioned  that  Mr.  Russell  and  Mr.  T. 
R.  Lee  had  arraigned  the  minority  on  that  floor  for  agi- 
tating the  question  of  a  convention,  saying,  by  implica- 
tion at  least,  that  if  the  question  was  to  be  presented  or 
agitated  at  all,  that  agitation  should  not  come  from  the 
whigs,  but  from  those  who  had  the  numerical  force 
in  the  house  to  carry  out  their  measures.  "  That  we 
have  done  what  the  gentlemen  charge,"  said  Mr.  Young, 
"  I  do  not  deny  ; 

»  " '  That  we  have  ta'en  away  the  old  man's  daughter 

IB  most  true  ;  true  we  have  married  her  ;' 

and  that  we  had  the  right  to  do  so  I  submit  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  committee,  upon  the  history  of  the  circum- 
stances attendant  upon  our  action. 

"  When  was  it  that  we  first  sought  to  agitate  this 
question  ?  We  had  just  passed  through  a  political  cam- 
paign, in  which  we  had  been  overthrown.  That  was 
not  our  fault,  but  our  misfortune.  We  felt  the  weight 
which  had  fallen  upon  us  by  the  great  victory  which 
you  had  obtained  over  us.  But  we  then  thought — how 
justly,  others  must  judge — that  overthrown  as  we  were, 
we  might  still  speak,  think,  and  utter  our  thoughts  too, 
if  there  was  nothing  in  them  which  the  laws  of  the 
country-  and  of  propriety  forbade.  How  did  we  find 
you  ?  There  \vas  another  circumstance  known  to  us — 
for  this  was  not  the  first  time  we  knew  you.v  We  knew 
of  the  contest  at  Syracuse,  where  you  were  divided 
When  we  came  here,  you  met  us  with  the  proud  claim 


1845.]  SPEECH  OF  MR.  YOUNG.  551 

that  you  were  again  allied.  We  saw  you — I  now  ad- 
dress that  branch  of  the  party  supposed  to  be  in  favor  of 
a  convention — marching  up  to  Syracuse  in  your  strength, 
and  overthrowing  those  allies  that  now  come  here  and 
tell  us  not  to  agitate  this  question.  We  had  seen  more. 
The  branch  of  the  party  to  which  I  believe  you,  sir, 
(addressing  the  chairman,  Mr.  Bevens,)  are  attached, 
was  overthrown,  by  that  to  which  the  gentleman  from 
Westchester  was  attached,  if  rumor  and  his  early  acts 
at  this  session  can  be  relied  on.  This  was  your  condi- 
tion at  Syracuse,  but  we  could  not  tell  what  results 
would  flow  from  your  action.  We  saw  you  grapple 
with  a  foe  full  your  equal,  and  though  you  overthrew 
your  antagonists  for  the  day,  and  Vly  Summit  was  clothed 
in  mourning,  yet  if  you  had  paid  much  attention  to  the 
attendant  circumstances,  you  would  have  found  that 
'  pornp  was  the  funeral,  the  black  the  wo.'  The  funeral 
knell,  if  it  was  sounded,  scarcely  reached  the  first  farm- 
house. And  while  you  were  on  that  night  engaged  in 
the  revel — nay,  for  aught  I  know,  when  you  had  brought 
out  the  golden  vessels,  an  ordinary  perception  might 
have  seen  not  only  the  handwriting  upon  the  wall,  but 
the  whole  person,  proclaiming  what  subsequent  events 
proved  to  be  too  true,  that  on  that  night  should  Belshaz- 
zar  the  king  be  slain.  If  you  had  then  looked  into  the 
camp  of  your  adversaries,  you  would  have  heard  the 
noise  of  mirth  drowning  the  funeral  dirge.  They  looked 
forward  to  an  event,  which  you  see  clearly  now,  when 
he,  whom  you  called  the  Cato  of  America,  should  be 
one  of  them.  They  appreciated  the  man  better  than 
you,  and  they  felt  that  while  they  had  lost  nothing,  you 
had  indeed  lost  your  general.  This  was  your  condition." 
The  main  part  of  Mr.  Young's  speech  was  occupied 


552  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

in  replying  to  Mr.  Seymour,  and  the  concluding  part  is 
so  inimitably  fine,  that  we  cannot  deny  ourselves  the 
pleasure  of  copying  it. 

"  There  was  another  remark,"  said  he,  "  in  that  speech 
[alluding  to  a  speech  delivered  by  Mr.  Seymour]  to 
which  I  listened  with  mingled  pain  and  pleasure.  He 
asserted  that  the  party  with  whom  he  acts,  would  be 
unanimous  on  this  question  of  a  convention.  He  was 
then  in  the  heyday  of  power,  and  I  thought — and  I  beg 
pardon  of  my  barnburning  friends  for  entertaining  the 
suspicion — that  he  would  be  able  to  make  the  party 
unanimous.  I  thought  I  saw  givings  away  in  some 
quarters.  I  regarded  your  forces  as  scattered  in  the 
early  part  of  the  session,  and  I  feared  there  would  be 
nothing  left.  I  knew  that  the  Oneida  chief  whom  you 
had  defeated,  was  not  annihilated,  but  was  still  hanging 
around  your  outposts,  and  once  your  vote  in  this  house 
appeared  to  indicate  that  the  real  friends  of  a  conven- 
tion were  few  indeed.  But  the  gentleman  evinced  too 
clearly  in  his  speech  on  Saturday,  that  after  all  his  dis- 
cipline and  machinery,  he  had  been  compelled  to  sur- 
render, and  we  heard  him  asking  for  quarter.  It  was 
painful  to  witness  a  spirit  so  proud  thus  crushed.  Then 
I  thought  I  could  look  into  another  place,  and  as  he 
paced  his  own  chamber  with  nervous  tread,  I  could 
catch  some  broken  fragments  of  his  expressions  in  re- 
tirement— for  thoughts  will  sometimes  come  unbidden  ^ 
to  the  lips.  Long  he  struggled  against  his  fate  before 
he  was  brought  to  submit  to  the  state  of  things  surround- 
ing him.  The  great  captain  was  defeated,  and  I  thought 
I  could  hear  many  of  the  expressions  of  his  wounded 
spirit.  I  thought  I  heard  him  say,  '  I  have  done  much, 
have  worked  long,  and  have  labored  hard  for  my  party' 


1845  ]  SPEECH  OF  MR.  YOUNG.  553 

— and  I  could  hear  no  more.  Then  I  thought  I  heard 
another  fragment  from  his  lips,  and  it  was  in  the  words 
of  the  great  poet — 

'  If  I  had  served  my  God  with  half  the  zeal 
I've  served  my  k'mg' — 

and  there  that  sentence  ended.  I  thought  I  heard  other 
things,  and  as  he  repeated  the  word  '  Saratoga/  a  pang 
shot  across  his  face  and  I  heard  him  say — 

'  Stab'dst  me  in  my  prime  of  youth 
At  Tewksbury'— 

He  was  not  speaking  of  the  battle  of  Saratoga,  but  of  a 
certain  convention  in  the  fifth  senate  district,  and  then 
his  feelings  of  nervous  excitement  seemed  still  stronger. 
This  was  not  all  I  heard.  In  his  imagination,  he  saw 
not  merely  a  handwriting  upon  the  wall,  but  the  full 
length  of  a  living,  breathing  man.  His  gray  hair  hung 
in  curls  upon  his  shoulders.  I  heard  nothing  then,  for 
he  said  nothing.  The  countenance  of  that  old  man  was 
familiar  to  the  gentleman,  and  it  was  the  last  face  he 
wished  to  see  at  such  an  hour.  I  listened,  for  I  thought 
in  that  great  struggle  I  might  hear  him  pronounce  the 
Roman  name  of  Cato.  But  prostrate  and  fallen  as  he 
seemed  to  regard  himself,  even  then  he  had  no  fear  of 
Cato.  The  scene  passed  by,  and  let  us  return  from  that 
chamber  to  this  hall.  The  advice  which  he  gave  for 
my  benefit,  looked  only  to  political  life  for  reward.  I 
thanked  him  for  his  good  wishes,  but  my  road  lies  an- 
other way.  I  have  a  single  word  to  say  to  him.  There 
is  much  of  him  to  cultivate  for  good.  He  has  shown 
himself  the  possessor  of  high  and  brilliant  talents,  and  if 
he  would  forget  party,  and  turn  aside  his  passion  for 
place  and  power,  and  the  narrow  path  of  party  discipline 


554  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

and  tactics — tear  away  the  drapery  he  has  thrown  around 
himself,  and  stand  out  his  own  living  self,  breathing  out 
the  purposes  of  his  generous  heart,  I  hope  I  shall  live 
to  see  that  gentleman  occupying  the  highest  station  that 
his  ambition  may  desire." 

When  the  convention  bill  reached  the  senate,  Mr. 
Lott  proposed  to  modify  it  by  requiring  that  the  amend- 
ments should  be  submitted  separately  to  the  people.  Mr. 
Hand,  who  was  understood  to  belong  to  the  radical  par- 
ty, and  Mr.  Beers,  who  sometimes  acted  with  one  party 
and  sometimes  with  the  other,  voted  with  the  hunker 
senators  for  Mr.  Lett's  motion ;  but  Mr.  Bockee,  who  had 
heretofore  generally  acted  with  the  hunkers,  took  strong 
ground  in  favor  of  the  bill  as  it  came  from  the  assembly. 
The  vote  on  Mr.  Lott's  motion  stood  15  to  17,  all  the 
whigs  present  voting  with  the  radicals. 

Very  able  and  elaborate  discussions  took  place  in  the 
senate.  Messrs.  Mitchell,  Hand,  Lott,  Beers,  Clark,  and 
Wright  delivered  speeches  in  favor  of  the  amendments 
to  the  bill  which  were  offered  in  the  house,  and  Messrs. 
Bockee,  Sherman,  Johnson,  Porter,  Putnam,  Folsom, 
and  Barlow,  on  the  other  side  of  the  question.  We 
regret  that  we  cannot  give  even  a  synopsis  of  those 
speeches.  On  the  last  evening  6Y  the  debate,  much 
warmth  was  excited,  and  some  confusion  and  irritation 
were  produced.  On  the  question  upon  the  final  passage 
of  the  bill,  Mr.  Hand  voted  for  it.  There  were  18  ayes 
and  14  noes.  In  the  senate,  as  in  the  assembly,  all  the 
whigs  resisted  any  amendments,  and  voted  for  the  bill 
as  introduced  by  Col.  Grain. 

Various  motions  were  made  to  put  off  the  time  for 
taking  the  final  vote  on  the  passage  of  the  bill,  by  Mr. 
Wright  and  others,  and  the  debates  in  committee  con- 


1845.]  CANAL  APPROPRIATIONS.  555 

tinued  until  12  o'clock  at  night  on  Saturday.  The  two 
houses  were  to  adjourn  on  Wednesday  morning,  and 
serious  apprehensions  were  entertained,  not  without 
cause,  by  the  friends  of  the  bill,  that  its  opponents  in- 
tended by  these  delays  to  prevent  the  passage  of  the  law. 
When  the  committee  rose  and  reported  the  bill,  Judge 
Bockee  moved  that  the  final  vote  should  be  taken  on 
Monday  at  a  certain  hour,  which  was  carried,  and  thus 
the  passage  of  the  bill  secured. 

A  radical  friend  from  Albany,  who  witnessed  the  clo- 
sing discussions  in  the  senate,  respecting  the  convention 
bill,  wrote  to  the  author  that  "  the  friends  of  Gov.  Bouck 
declared  the  democratic  party  dissolved,  and  used  every 
epithet  and  appeal  that  could  operate  on  the  weak  and 
the  timid." 

Although  Gov.  Wright  evidently  accorded  with  the 
hunkers  in  their  views  in  relation  to  the  convention  bill, 
a  bill  soon  after  passed  both  houses  which  brought  him 
in  direct  collision  with  that  class  of  politicians.  The 
bill  to  which  we  allude  was  entitled,  "  An  act  in  relation 
to  the  Canals."  This  bill  appropriated  $197,000  for 
several  objects  which  will  be  hereafter  mentioned ;  and 
among  others,  $55,000,  which  was  in  part  to  be  expend- 
ed "for  completing  the  construction  of  such  portions  of 
the  unfinished  works  on  the  Genesee  Valley  Canal,  as  the 
canal  commissioners  should  be  of  opinion  would  be  most 
economical  for  the  interest  of  the  state ;"  and  that 
$20,000  should  be  expended  "for  the  same  purpose,"  on 
the  Black  River  Canal.  The  bill  was  reported  at  a  late 
day  in  the  session,  and  seems  not  to  have  excited  much 
attention  in  the  assembly.  On  its  final  passage  28  dem- 
ocrats (including  the  members  from  St.  Lawrence)  and 
40  whigs  voted  for  it,  and  25  democrats  and  one  whig 


556  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

against  it.  It  is  said  that  it  was  not  expected  the  bill 
would  pass  the  senate  ;  but  we  cannot  learn  that  it  un- 
derwent much  discussion  there.  The  vote  on  its  final 
passage  in  that  house  was  14  ayes  and  9  noes.  Six  of  the 
radical  senators,  Messrs.  Deyo,  Varney,  Sedgwick,  Tal- 
cott,  Barlow,  and  Sherman,  did  not  vote.  Five  of  those 
senators,  it  was  supposed,  were  opposed  to  the  bill,  and 
were  then  about  the  capitol,  but  left  their  seats,  either 
by  accident  or  design,  a  few  moments  before  the  ques- 
tion was  taken.  Had  these  five  senators  voted  against 
the  bill,  it  would  not  probably  have  passed. 

On  the  same  day  the  bill  was  sent  to  the  governor, 
and  on  that  evening  he  returned  it  to  the  assembly  with 
a  veto  message,  which  could  not  have  been  written  that 
day,  as  it  was  very  long.  It  occupied  a  little  more  than 
ten  printed  columns  in  the  Albany  newspapers.  Indeed, 
it  is  admitted  that  the  message  was  prepared  before  the 
bill  passed  the  senate.  It  was  therefore  alleged  by 
the  hunkers,  that  the  radical  senators  who  abandoned 
their  seats  knew  that  the  bill  was  to  be  vetoed,  and  that 
they  declined  voting  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the 
governor  to  do  so.  The  object,  as  the  hunkers  allege, 
was  to  identify  Mr.  Wright  with  the  radicals,  and  to 
create  a  new  issue  other  than  that  on  the  convention 
bill  between  the  two  sections.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
radicals  alleged  that  the  bill  was  got  up  by  Mr.  Sey- 
mour for  two  objects,  one  of  which  was,  by  this  small 
appropriation  to  establish  a  precedent  by  which  the  act 
of  1842  was  to  be  evaded  and  gradually  undermined ; 
and  the  other,  to  compel  the  governor  to  veto  it,  and 
thereby  render  him  unpopular  on  the  line  of  thes.e  ca- 
nals. They  further  allege,  that  the  absence  of  the  five 
senators  was  owing  to  causes  other  than  a  design  or 


1845.]  GOV.  WRIGHT'S  VETO  MESSAGE.  557 

wish  that  the  bill  should  pass.  Messrs.  Talcott,  Barlow, 
and  Sedgwick,  for  instance,  living  on  the  line  of  the  ca- 
nal, might  have  supposed  that  the  passage  of  the  bill 
would  be  defeated  without  their  aid,  and  were  desirous 
to  avoid  creating  personal  opponents  by  voting  against 
it,  Mr.  Seymour,  on  the  contrary,  denies  any  such  in- 
tentions as  those  of  which  he  was  charged,  and  al- 
leges, with  great  force,  as  a  reason,  that  he  could  not 
know  when  he  advocated  the  bill  that  five  of  the  gov- 
ernor's friends  would  avoid  voting  upon  it. 

The  radicals  further  alleged,  that  the  passage  of  this 
bill  first  convinced  Gov.  Wright  of  the  hostility  of  the 
hunkers  to  the  law  of  1842  ;  and  that  at  the  same  mo- 
ment he  handed  the  veto  message  to  his  private  secre- 
tary, he  delivered  the  convention  bill  to  his  messenger 
to  deposite  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state.  And 
that  although  he  had  previously  been  opposed  to  a  con- 
vention with  unrestricted  powers,  he  now  regarded  that 
measure  as  the  only  means  of  preserving  the  credit  of 
the  state. 

The  governor's  veto  message,  like  every  thing  else 
written  by  him,  was  executed  with  great  ability.  The 
following  extracts  exhibit  the  substance  of  it: 

"  The  first  section  of  the  bill  appropriates  one  hun- 
dred and  ninety-seven  thousand  dollars  from  the  reve- 
nues of  the  canals,  and  commands  its  payment  by  the 
commissioners  of  the  canal  fund,  for  the  following  ob- 
jects, and  in  the  following  proportions,  namely  : 

"  1.  Twenty-five  thousand  dollars  'for  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  such  locks  on  the  Crooked  Lake  Canal,  as  the 
canal  commissioners  shall  judge  necessary  to  ensure  the 
safety  of  navigation  on  that  canal.' 

"  2.  Eighty-two  thousand  dollars  '  for  the  purpose  of 


558  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

completing  and  bringing  into  use  such  works  on  the 
Erie  Canal  enlargement  as  the  canal  commissioners 
shall  decide  will  best  promote  the  interest  of  the  state 
and  the  facilities  of  navigation.' 

"  3.  Fifty  thousand  dollars,  '  to  be  expended  upon  the 
Genesee  Valley  Canal  for  the  following  objects,  to  wit_: 

"'  1.  For  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  work  on  the 
Genesee  Valley  Canal  which  has  been  finished  and  not 
brought  into  use  ; 

" '  2.  Or  which  has  not  been  finished  ; 

"'3.  And  the  materials  that  have  been  procured  and 
paid  for,  or  estimated  to  contractors  for  such  work  ; 

"'4.  And  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  construc- 
tion of  such  portions  of  the  unfinished  work  on  the  said 
canal  as  the  canal  commissioners  shall  be  of  opinion  will 
be  the  most  economical  for  the  interest  of  the  state.' 

"  Twenty  thousand  dollars  to  be  expended  upon  the 
Black  River  Canal,  south  of  Boonville,  for  the  same  ob- 
jects as  those  specified  in  relation  to  the  Genesee  Valley 
Canal;  and  twenty  thousand  dollars  to  be  expended  upon 
the  Black  River  Canal,  north  of  Boonville,  for  the  same 
objects."  *  *  *  * 

"Against  the  first  expenditure  authorized,  namely, 
'  the  reconstruction  of  such  locks  on  the  Crooked  Lake 
Canal  as  the  canal  commissioners  shall  judge  necessary 
to  ensure  the  safety  of  navigation  on  that  canal,'  I  make 
no  objection."  *  *  *  "  Against  the  second  expen- 
diture authorized,  'for  the  purpose  of  completing  and 
bringing  into  use  such  works  on  the  Erie  Canal  enlarge- 
ment as  the  canal  commissioners  shall  decide  will  best 
promote  the  interest  of  the  state  and  the  facilities  of 
navigation/  I  should  not  find  myself  compelled  to  inter- 
pose objection."  *  *  *  "I  have  come  to  the  same 


1845.]  GOV.  WRIGHT'S  VETO  MESSAGE.  559 

conclusion  in  relation  to  the  three  first  objects  of  expen- 
diture upon  the  Genesee  Valley  Canal,  as  they  are  found 
specified  in  the  bill,  and  are  above  enumerated,  namely  : 

"'1.  To  preserve  the  work  which  has  been  finished 
and  not  brought  into  use. 

" '  2.  To  preserve  the  work  which  has  not  been  finished. 

"  '  3.  To  preserve  materials  that  have  been  procured 
and  paid  for,  or  estimated  to  contractors  for  such  work.' 

"This,"  continues  the  governor,  "brings  me  to  the 
provisions  of  the  bill  which  I  find  myself  unable  to  ap- 
prove. That  relating  to  the  Genesee  Valley  Canal  is 
enumerated  above,  under  the  fourth  head  of  expenditure 
upon  that  canal,  and  is,  by  the  force  of  the  language  last 
above  quoted,  in  effect,  repeated  in  reference  to  the 
Black  River  Canal.  The  expenditure  upon  both  is  di- 
rected to  be  'for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  construc- 
tion of  such  portions  of  the  unfinished  work  on  the  said 
canal  as  the  canal  commissioners  shall  be  of  opinion  will 
be  the  most  economical  for  the  interest  of  the  state.' 
This  enactment  I  am  compelled  to  consider  as  putting 
an  end  to  the  policy  of  a  suspension  of  the  public  works, 
until  the  debt  of  the  state  shall  be  brought  within  the 
safe  and  certain  power  and  control  of  its  revenues,  with- 
out taxation  upon  the  people  ;  and  as  a  distinct  resump- 
tion of  those  works,  under  circumstances  quite  as  objec- 
tionable, in  reference  to  the  provisions  and  policy  of  the 
suspension  act  of  1842,  and  the  other  legislation,  previ- 
ous and  subsequent,  upon  the  same  subject,  as  such  a 
resumption  would  be  without  any  forms  of  limitation 
upon  the  expenditure. 

"  I  am  well  aware  that  this  bill  preserves  the  forms  of 
limitation,  and  that  its  friends  appear  to  have  convinced 
themselves  that  its  provisions  are  in  strict  accordance 


560  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

with  the  provisions  and  policy  of  the  suspension  act, 
and  of  course,  I  presume,  with  the  other  legislation  to 
which  I  refer.  In  this  view  of  the  enactment  in  the  bill 
now  under  immediate  consideration,  I  am  wholly  una- 
ble, after  the  most  careful  examination,  and  mature  re- 
flection, to  concur  with  those  who  hold  these  opinions, 
and  hence  my  inability  to  approve  and  sign  the  bill  itself, 
while  this  provision  constitutes  a  part  of  it.  •  I  will  pro- 
ceed to  state  the  grounds  of  my  dissent,  and  my  objections 
to  the  enactment,  as  concisely  as  shall  be  consistent 
with  a  clear  and  full  understanding  of  them." 

He  then  proceeds  to  show  that  this  appropriation  is 
in  violation  of  the  pledges  contained  in  the  law  author- 
izing the  construction  of  the  Cayuga  and  Seneca,  Oswe- 
go  and  Chenango  canals,  and  entirely  inconsistent  with 
the  provisions  and  pledges  of  the  act  of  1842. 

The  governor  concludes  his  message  by  declaring 
that  he  cannot  express  the  regret  he  feels  at  being  under 
any  circumstances  compelled  to  make  a  decision  con- 
trary to  the  opinion  of  the  majority  of  the  legislature  ; 
"  still,"  he-  says,  with  that  peculiar  modesty  which  char- 
acterized every  act  of  his  life,  "my  most  solemn  con 
victions  assure  me,  that  I  but  discharge  an  imperious 
constitutional  duty,  unmixed  with,  and  uninfluenced  by, 
a  single  personal  feeling  or  interest  of  which  I  am  con- 
scious. That  the  consequence  of  rny  action  is  but  a  call 
upon  the  legislature  to  reconsider  its  own,  and  not  a  ne- 
cessary rejection  of  the  bill,  is  a  gratifying  reflection ; 
and  I  am  not  without  hope  that  the  considerations  I  have 
presented,  imperfect  and  tedious  as  that  presentation  is, 
may  induce  the  two  houses  to  come  to  my  conclusion, 
that  the  bill,  in  its  present  shape,  and  with  its  present 
provisions,  ought  not  to  pass.  If,  on  the  contrary,  these 


1845.]         WM.  KE\T J.  W.  EDMONDS.  501 

considerations  shall  seem  to  deserve  no  weight,  and  the 
bill  shall  pass,  notwithstanding  the  objections,  the  harm, 
if  any,  of  this  communication,  must  fall  upon  myself, 
where  it  should  rest,  if  the  objections  are  not  well  found- 
ed. Should  neither  of  these  results  follow,  and  the  bill 
fail  for  a  want  of  the  constitutional  vote,  a  majority  of 
both  houses  continuing  to  be  in  its  favor ;  in  that  case,  I 
shall  cheerfully  submit  to  the  people  of  the  state  the  de- 
cision of  the  issue  which  will  be  formed  between  myself 
and  the  majority  of  the  legislature,  rejoicing  in  the  con- 
viction that  the  difference  of  opinion  on  my  part  is  un- 
accompanied by  one  personal  feeling  unfriendly  to  a 
single  individual  of  that  majority,  and  determined  that 
the  decision  of  our  common  constituents  shall  be  sub- 
mitted to  by  me,  in  the  same  spirit  in  which  I  have 
joined  the  issue." 

We  have  given  these  ample  extracts  from  this  mes- 
sage, because  it  has  been  alleged,  and  is  believed  by 
many,  that  this  was  the  principal  cause  of  the  loss  of  Mr. 
Wright's  election  in  the  autumn  of  1846. 

To  the  great  regret  of  the  New  York  bar,  and  of  the 
public  generally,  WILLIAM  KENT,  whose  appointment  as 
judge  of  the  first  circuit  has  been  heretofore  noticed,  re- 
signed his  office  in  consequence  of  impaired  health,  and 
the  governor  appointed  JOHN  W.  EDMONDS,  formerly  a 
prominent  member  of  the  state  senate,  in  his  place. 

Mr.  Edmonds,  by  the  manner  in  which  he  discharged 
the  duties  of  the  office,  soon  furnished  evidence  that  the 
selection  was  judicious.  He  has  proved  himself  an  able 
judge,  and  a  firm,  independent  defender  of  human  rights. 
The  people  of  the  first  circuit  have  evinced  that  they 
properly  appreciate  his  merits  by  electing  him  a  judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  first  district. 


POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YOEK.  [1845 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Bill  to  prevent  persons  appearing  disguised  and  armed — Anti-rent  Conven- 
tion at  Beru — No  Democratic  legislative  Caucus  was  held  at  the  close 
of  the  session — Address  of  the  Radical  members — Whig  legislative  Cau- 
cus and  Address — Democratic  Mass  Meeting  at  Albany — Different  opin- 
ions as  to  the  course  pursued  by  Governor  Wright — J.  A.  Spencer  and 
Samuel  Young  elected  Senators— General  Result  of  the  Election  in 
November,  1845— Death  of  General  Jackson— Death  of  Judge  Suther- 
land—Death of  Francis  Dwight— His  Character. 

ON  one  of  the  first  days  of  the  session  of  1845,  a  bill, 
in  pursuance  ot  the  recommendation  of  the  governor, 
was  introduced,  entitled  "  An  act  to  prevent  persons  ap- 
pearing disguised  and  armed."  It  authorized  the  arrest 
of  all  persons  who  appeared  having  their  faces  concealed 
or  discolored  ;  and,  upon  being  brought  before  a  magis- 
trate, on  failure  to  give  a  good  account  of  themselves, 
it  declared  that  they  should  be  adjudged  vagrants,  and 
punished  accordingly.  The  bill  armed  the  sheriff  with 
the  power  of  the  county,  and  made  it  highly  penal  for 
any  person  to  refuse  to  aid  him  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  imposed  on  him  by  that  act.  This  bill  passed 
rapidly  through  both  houses,  and  became  a  law  on  the 
28th  of  January.* 

*  We  omitted  to  mention  in  its  proper  place  that  an  anti-rent  state  con- 
vention was  held  at  Bern,  in  the  county  of  Albany,  on  the  15th  of  Jan- 
uary, the  proceedings  of  which  were  published  in  a  well-conducted  anti- 
rent  newspaper  printed  at  Albany,  called  "  THE  GUARDIAN  OF  THE  SOIL." 
These  proceedings  evinced  great  moderation,  and  on  the  whole  were  cred- 
itable to  those  who  constituted  the  assemblage.  Dr.  F.  Crounse  of  Guil- 
derland,  was  president  pro  tern.  It  is  stated  that  eleven  counties,  and  a 
much  greater  number  of  associations,  were  represented,  viz:  Albany, 


1845.]  ANTI-RENT  CONVENTION.  5C3 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  at  the  time  the 
state  officers  were  chosen,  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  Mr. 
Bouck  were  elected  regents  of  the  University. .  The 
former,  soon  after  his  appointment,  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  president  of  the  senate  declining  to  accept  the  office, 
and  on  the  10th  day  of  May,  Jabez  D.  Hammond  was 
appointed  to  supply  the  vacancy. 

The  legislature  adjourned  on  the  14th  day  of  May. 
For  the  first  time  for  many  years,  no  caucus  of  the  dem- 
ocratic members,  for  the  purpose  of  addressing  their 
constituents,  was  held.  A  joint  committee  of  the  two 
houses  for  calling  caucuses  then  existed,  but  in  conse- 
quence of  some  misunderstanding,  no  call  for  a  caucus 
was  mafje.  That  committee  consisted  partly  of  hun- 
kers and  partly  of  radicals.  The  committee  on  the  part 
of  the  senate  consisted  of  Messrs.  Porter,  Clark,  and 


Rensselaer,  Schoharie,  Delaware,  Montgomery,  Schenectady,  Greene, 
Sullivaii,  Columbia,  Ulster,  and  Otsego.  The  following  were  the  officers 
of  the  convention :  -f  * 

Hugh  Scott,  of  Albany  county,  president. 

William  Murphy,  Albany  county  ;  Henry  Conklin,  Rensselaer ;  D.  L. 
Sternbergh,  Schoharie  ;  Orvillo  H.  Wilcox,  Columbia  ;  Harvey  I.  Hamil- 
ton, Montgomery  ;  John  Ludd,  Jr.,  Schenectady  ;  Martin  Lamy,  Ulster ; ' 
Hiram  Faulkner,  Greene ;  Robert  Sloat,  Otsego ;  Wm.  Morrison,  Dela- 
ware ;  Divine  More,  Sullivan,  vice-presidents. 

Thos.  Ten   Eyck,  Reusselaer  ;    Abm.  Spickerman,   Schoharie  ;  John ' 
D.  Langdlen,  Columbia,  secretaries. 

The  convention  was  addressed  by  Mr.  John  Mayham,  of  Schoharie. 
Resolutions,  disapproving  of  the  outrages  in  Rensselaer  and  Columbia,  but 
avowing  a  determination  to  adhere  to  the  anti-rent  cause  and  candidates, 
were  adopted.  They  also  resolved  to  petition  the  legislature  ;  and  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  meet  in  Albany,  with  the  petitions,  on  the  5th  of 
February,  and  remain  in  attendance  upon  the  legislature  as  long  as  such 
attendance  should  be  advantageous.  The  following  persons  were  appointed 
a  state  central  committee  :  Lawrence  Van  Dusen,  East  Bern,  Albany ' 
county ;  Abm.  Spickerman,  Bernville,  Schoharie  county  ;  John  Bowdish, 
Root,  Montgomery  county  ;  Luther  Butts,  Kortright,  Delaware  county  , 
Harry  Belts,  Rensselaer  county. 


564  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

Lott.  After  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  each 
section  charged  the  other  with  designedly  preventing  a 
caucus,  and  rather  an  angry  correspondence  was  carried 
on  between  Senators  Porter  and  Clark  on  the  subject, 
which  was  published  in  the  Atlas  and  Argus,  in  which 
they  mutually  accused  each  other  with  a  course  of  con- 
duct unfriendly  to  a  union  of  action  of  the  democratic 
party.  The  truth  probably  was,  that  both  parties,  be- 
lieving it  impossible  to  unite  in  an  address  which  would 
be  satisfactory  to  all,  were  disinclined  to  meet  together 
in  caucus ;  and  that  each  party  desired  to  produce  an 
impression  abroad  that  the  failure  of  presenting  to  their 
constituents  the  usual  address  was  chargeable  on  the 
adverse  party. 

The  radicals,  however,  did  prepare  an  address,  which 
was  signed  by  thirteen  senators  and  thirty  members  of 
the  assembly.  The  material  part  of  this  address,  to 
which  the  hunkers  could  not  subscribe,  was,  that  it  took 
ground  on  the  convention  bill  adverse  to  the  principles 
of  a  majority  vote  by  the  people,  according  to  the  test 
which  had  been  proposed  by  the  minority  in  the  assem- 
bly, and  against  a  separate  submission  of  the  amend- 
ments to  the  constitution  which  the  convention  might 
propose.  Much  complaint  was  made  by  the  hunker 
newspapers  against  the  radicals  for  publishing  this  ad- 
dress, as  irregular,  contrary  to  the  usages  of  the  demo- 
cratic party,  and  as  factious. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  the  whigs 
published  an  address,  reported  by  a  committee  of 
which  Mr.  Worden  was  chairman,  and  which  was 
probably  drawn  by  him.  It  was  signed  by  forty-nine 
members  of  the  legislature. 

In  the  address  the  signers  of  it  complain  of  the  finan- 


1845.]  WHIG  LEGISLATIVE  ADDRESS.  565 

cial  act  of  1842,  as  construed  by  the  governor  in  his 
veto  message  of  the  canal  bill.  They  present  an  elab- 
orate view  of  the  financial  operations  of  the  state.  They 
allege  that  ten  millions  of  the  existing  canal  debt  was 
contracted  before  the  whig  party  in  1839  came  into 
power,  and  they  charge  that  the  practice  of  loaning  the 
public  money  to  corporations  was  begun  by  the  demo- 
crats while  they  constituted  the  dominant  party  in  the 
state.  They  give  an  historical  account  of  their  legisla- 
tive proceedings  on  the  subject  of  the  constitutional 
convention,  and  they  justify  the  measure  upon  the  ground 
that  amendments  to  the  constitution  had  become  indis- 
pensable, and  that  experience  had  proved  that  it  was 
morally  impossible  to  agree  on  the  details  of  some  es- 
sential alterations  in  the  organic  law,  which  would  be 
approved  by  two  consecutive  legislatures,  in  the  manner 
directed  by  the  constitution  of  1821. 

In  respect  to  national  affairs,  they  declare  themselves 
in  favor  of  the  tariff  of  1842.  They  denounce  in  strong 
terms  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  they  charge  the 
democratic  party  in  the  New  York  legislature  with  in- 
directly favoring  that  measure,  by  refusing  to  act  upon 
resolutions  condemning  the  project,  which  the  whig 
members  had  proposed. 

The  address  was  an  able  one,  and  seems  to  have 
been  well  calculated  to  make  an  impression  on  the  mind 
of  the  public. 

During  the  recess  of  the  legislature,  and  before  the 
general  election  in  November,  there  was  not  much  ap- 
parent political  excitement.  The  whigs  were  quietly 
endeavoring  to  strengthen  themselves  in  the  legislature 
at  the  coming  election,  but  serious  divisions  began  to 
appear  in  their  ranks.  The  Courier  and  Enquirer  came 


566  POLITICAL  BISTORT  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

out  openly  against  the  convention,  and  more  than  insin- 
uated that  Mr.  Young,  Mr.  Weed,  and  others,  were  too 
radical  in  their  principles,  and  that  they  advocated  wild 
and  revolutionary  theories,  calculated  eventually  to 
unsettle  the  rights  of  property,  and  destroy  social 
o,rder.  Gov.  Seward  was  charged,  if  not  in  the  public 
papers,  in  private  circles,  with  abolition  propensities, 
and  a  design  to  enlist  the  Irish  Catholics  in  his  favor 
personally. 

The  masses  of  the  democratic  party  in  the  country 
counties,  although  they  were  not  inclined  to  take  sides 
either  with  hunkers  or  radicals,  amazed  and  bewildered 
by  the  scenes  which  had  occurred  in  the  capital,  did  not 
appear  disposed  to  act  with  energy,  or  their  accustomed 
zeal.  An  effort  was  made,  soon  after  the  adjournment 
of  the  legislature,  to  inspire  more  enthusiasm  in  the 
masses  of  the  democratic  party,  by  getting  up  a  meeting 
at  the  capitol,  called  by  the  general  republican  commit- 
tee, to  respond  to  the  convention  bill  and  the  veto  mes- 
sage; and  similar  meetings  were  called  in  New  York  and 
other  places.  The  meeting  at  Albany  was  attended  by 
some  of  the  most  respectable  citizens  of  that  city.  It 
appears  to  have  been  attended  chiefly  by  the  radicals. 
JOHN  KEYES  PAIGE  was  chosen  president,  and  Colonel 
James  M'Kown  and  nine  other  gentlemen  vice-presi- 
dents. Letters  were  received  and  read  from  Ex-Presi- 
dent Van  Buren  and  George  P.  Barker.  A  committee, 
consisting  of  thirteen  persons,  among  whom  were  Peter 
Cagger,  H.  H.  Van  Dyck,  Bradford  R.  Wood,  and  Nich- 
olas Hill,  Jr.,  was  appointed.  The  meeting  was  elo- 
quently addressed  by  the  attorney -general,  John  Van 
Buren,  and  David  B.  Gafney,  Esq.,  a  talented  and  elo- 
quent adopted  citizen. 


1845.]        DEMOCRATIC  MASS  MEETING  AT  ALBANY.  567 

The  first  resolution  of  the  meeting  was  in  the  follow- 
ing words :  . 

"  Resolved,  That  \ve  hail  with  unbounded  satisfaction 
the  veto  of  Gov.  Wright  of  '  the  act  in  relation  to  the 
canals,'  and  the  exposition  of  the  financial  policy  of  the 
state,  with  which  he  has  accompanied  his  objections  to 
the  passage  of  that  bill.  And  regarding,  as  we  have 
been  taught  to  do  by  the  illustrious  example  of  Jackson, 
the  veto  power  as  a  prerogative  in  the  hands  of  the  ex- 
ecutive, to  be  wielded  for  the  protection  of  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  the  whole  people,  against  the  errors  of 
judgment,  and  departures  from  sourfd  principle  of  the 
legislative  department,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
common  constituency — we  accept  this  exercise  of  that 
prerogative,  as  one  required  by  every  consideration  of 
justice  to  the  tax  payers  and  to  the  public  creditor,  and 
of  regard  for  the  public  welfare  and  the  pledged  honor 
of  the  state  ;  and  that  as  a  portion  of  the  constituency 
to  which  it  appeals,  we  respond  to  it  by  the  unanimous 
and  emphatic  declaration  of  our  sincere  approval,  and 
the  pledge  of  a  support,  as  firm  and  vigorous  and  patri- 
otic as  the  measure  in  whose  behalf  it  is  tendered." 

Other  resolutions  were  passed,  warmly  approving  of 
the  convention  bill.  v?j  --i 

The  object  of  the  sagacious  gentleman  who  was  most 
efficient  in  getting  up  this  meeting,4  and  who,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, drew  the  resolutions,  seems  to  have  been  to 
make  the  convention  and  veto  message,  measures  of  the 
party,  and  to  have  gone  into  the  canvass  at  the  next 
election  on  such  issues  as  might  be  formed  in  relation  to 
those  measures.  The  expectation,  then,  was,  that  these 


*  Dudley  Burwell,  Esquire. 


568  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

two  measures  would  be  taken  up  by  the  radical  news- 
papers, and  the  subjects  connected  with  those  measures 
warmly  and  vigorously  discussed  and  earnestly  pressed 
on  the  attention  of  the  public  during  the  summer  and 
fall.  They  anticipated  that  the  effect  of  such  a  course 
of  proceedings  would  be  to  produce  a  renovated  demo- 
cratic party,  who  would  have  the  control  of  the  conven- 
tion when  it  should  meet.  In  these  expectations  they 
were  wholly  disappointed.  "  This  idea,"  [the  idea  of 
making  the  convention  bill  and  veto  message  issues,] 
says  an  intelligent  radical  friend,  in  a  letter  to  the  au- 
thor, "  was,  to  the  utter  astonishment  of  the  radicals, 
abandoned,  and  after  a  few  weeks  both  measures  were 
permitted  to  sleep  in  quietness.  Even  the  Atlas  seldom 
alluded  to  them.  My  inference  is,  that  many  of  the  old 
republican  friends  of  Gov.  Wright  besought  him  not  to 
press  these  measures  too  hard,  and  that  ultimately  they 
would  support  them  and  maintain  the  organization  of 
the  party  ;  that  he  yielded  to  these  suggestions  from  the 
best  motives  that  can  warm  the  heart,  but  that  he  mis- 
took then,  as  he  constantly  did  till  the  vote  of  1846,  the 
character  and  objects  of  these  pretended  friends.  The 
time  for  discussion  was  the  summer  of  1845.  It  was 
allowed  to  pass  unimproved,  and  the  election  of  that  fall, 
in  many  counties,  proceeded  upon  old  issues."  *  *  * 
"  To  one  familiar  as  I  was  for  several  years  with  the 
majorities  of  the  several  counties  in  the  state,  and  with 
the  sentiments  of  the  people  as  radical  or  conservative, 
I  confess  I  have  watched  the  progress  of  these  matters 
with  great  solicitude.  Until  the  last  moment  Governor 
Wright  was  constantly  recurring  to  his  old  friends,  and 
relying  upon  their  personal  assurances  that  they  would 
never  desert  him.  He  believed  it."  *  *  *  "I  tried 


1845.]  GOV.  WRIGHT  AND  HIS  FRIENDS.  569 

myself  to  arouse  him,  but  I  found  that  it  was  vain.  The 
confidence  in  former  friends  is  stronger  than  the  belief 
in  new  principles.  He  hesitated  between  them — he  tried 
hard  to  reconcile  them,  failed,  and  was  lost." 

This  is  the  view  taken  of  the  conduct  of  Gov.  Wright 
by  one  of  his  radical  friends.  We  will  place  in  juxtaposi- 
tion with  it  the  inferences  and  opinion  of  a  distinguished 
hunker : 

"  The  result  of  the  session  (of  1845)  was  to  make 
John  Young  governor,  as  the  whigs  felt  he  had  secured 
the  passage  of  the  convention  bill  under  circumstances 
calculated  to  divide  and  distract  the  democratic  party. 
The  catial  bill  veto  was  injurious  to  Gov.  Wright.  It 
appears  to  have  been  the  fate  of  that  distinguished  man 
to  be  destroyed  by  those  claiming  to  be  his  particular 
friends,  but  who  constantly  used  him  for  some  selfish 
purpose."  *  *  *  "In  my  judgment,  Gov.  Wright 
committed  some  fatal  errors  at  this  session.  I  think  his 
own  views  in  the  main  were  correct,  but  he  allowed 
himself  to  be  overruled,  and  in  some  instances  he  evinced 
a  want  of  firmpess.  This  was  particularly  true  in  rela- 
tion to  the  convention  and  canal  bills.  He  approved  of 
the  amendments  to  the  convention  bill  which  were  pro- 
posed and  supported  by  a  majority  of  the  democratic 
members  of  the  legislature ;  and  as  the  minority  who 
opposed  these  amendments  claimed  to  be  his  particular 
friends,  had  he  acted  with  firmness  and  energy  he  cer- 
tainly could  have  controlled  them.  Had  he  done  so, 
the  division  of  the  party  would  have  been  avoided,  and 
the  canal  bill  would  not  have  been  passed,  and  his  veto 
would  not  have  defeated  him  in  1846.  Gov.  Wright 
had  a  better  faculty  for  making  friends  than  for  control- 
ling them.  In  this  respect  he  lacked  executive  talent." 


570  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OP  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

One  object  we  have  in  presenting  copies  of  these  let- 
ters is  to  show  how  very  differently  honest  men  will 
judge  of  the  same  act  and  same  transaction.  The  au- 
thors of  these  letters  are  both  men  of  high  character  for 
honor  and  integrity,  both  are  profound  and  sagacious 
politicians,  both  are  excellent  judges  of  men,  and  of  the 
consequences  which  a  given  political  act  is  most  likely 
to  produce ;  and  although  these  gentlemen  concur  in  the 
opinion  that  Gov.  Wright  committed  two  capital  errors, 
yet  one  of  them  charges  as  an  error  what  the  other 
ascribes  to  his  wisdom  and  virtue.  One  says  he  was 
ruined  by  trusting  to  his  "  old  friends,"  while  the  other 
affirms  his  ruin  was  produced  by  being  too  much  influ- 
enced by  his  "particular  friends"  and  neglecting  his 
"old  ones."  Both,  however,  concur  in  the  opinion  (not- 
withstanding one  of  them  was  his  opponent)  that  Gov. 
Wright  was  a  great  and  good  man  ;  and  though  both 
think  he  sometimes  erred  in  judgment,  both  believe  and 
declare  that  he  was  always  governed  by  pure  and  pa- 
triotic motives. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  difficulties  and  embarrass- 
ments with  which  the  democratic  party  were  surround- 
ed, they  succeeded  in  electing  a  majority  of  the  members 
of  the  legislature  at  the  November  election.  The  whigs, 
in  the  third  district,  elected  Mr.  Van  Schoonhoven,  of 
Troy,  who  was  also  the  nominee  of  the  Anti-renters, 
who  polled  a  large  vote  in  that  district ;  and  they  like- 
wise elected  Mr.  Joshua  A.  Spencer  in  the  fifth  district. 
This  district  was  largely  democratic  at  the  election  in 
1844 ;  we  believe  it  gave  some  two  thousand  majority. 
Mr.  Spencer  was  elected  in  consequence  of  a  schism  in 
Oneida  county  between  the  hunker  and  radical  demo- 
crats, by  means  of  which  that  county,  which  had  here- 


1845.]  COL.  YOUNG.  571 

tofore  given  from  eight  to  ten  hundred  democratic  ma- 
jority, now  elected  whig  members  of  the  assembly,  and 
gave  Mr.  Spencer  a  majority.  There  were  also  some 
local  difficulties  in  the  county  of  Otsego,  which  was  de- 
cidedly democratic,  but  which,  in  consequence  of  those 
difficulties,  gave  Mr.  Spencer  a  majority  of  more  than 
six  hundred.  There  was  still  another  circumstance 
which  greatly  aided  the  success  of  Mr.  Spencer.  He 
was  well  known  through  the  district  as  a  lawyer  de- 
servedly eminent  in  his  profession,  distinguished  for 
probity  and  integrity,  and  for  purity  of  character.  The 
whigs  also,  as  usual,  succeeded  in  electing  their  senato- 
rial candidate  in  the  eighth  district.  The  democratic 
party  elected  their  candidates  in  all  the  other  districts. 
Col.  YOUNG  had  at  an  early  day  been  unanimously  nomi- 
nated by  the  democrats  of  the  fourth  district.  In  his  letter 
by  which  he  signified  his  acceptance  of  the  nomination, 
after  stating  that  "  with  respect  to  the  honor  of  that  sta- 
tion, every  individual  wish  and  every  personal  aspira- 
tion had  long  since  been  gratified,"  and  that  had  the 
nomination  depended  on  his  own  act,  that  act  would  not 
have  been  performed ;  but  that  the  generous  and  abi- 
ding confidence  which  had  spontaneously  produced  his 
no'mination  at  that  time,  had  -imposed  on  him  an  addi- 
tional debt  of  gratitude  which  time  could  not  obliterate, 
and  which  no  effort  of  his  could  repay ;  he  added,  "  And 
although  some  remnant  of  the  spirit  of  thirty-six  (not 
seventy-six)  may  yet  remain  in  the  legislature,  yet  I  feel 
that  I  ought  not  to  shrink  from  a  position  which  may 
again  subject  me  to  its  bitterness." 

His  bold  denunciation  of  the  banking  monopoly,  and 
of  public  expenditures  for  internal  improvements  which 
he  as  a  senator  during  the  year  to  which  he  alluded  had 


572  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1845. 

so  resolutely  opposed,  called  out  a  vigorous  opposition 
to  him  in  some  parts  of  the  district.  He  was,  neverthe- 
less, elected  over  a  very  popular  opponent,  Mr.  Hopkins, 
by  more  than  one  thousand  majority. 

Edward  Sanford,  son  of  the  late  chancellor,  was 
elected  from  the  first  district,  in  place  of  Mr.  Varian  ; 
Saxton  Smith,  from  Putnam  county,  in  place  of  Judge 
Bockee,  of  the  second  district ;  William  H.  Van  Schoon- 
hoven,  from  the  third  district,  as  successor  of  Erastus 
Corning  ;  Samuel  Young,  from  the  fourth,  in  lieu  of  Ed- 
ward Varney ;  Joshua  A.  Spencer,  in  place  of  George 
C.  Sherman ;  Thomas  J.  Wheeler,  from  the  sixth,  suc- 
ceeded Dr.  Faulkner  ;  Richard  H.  Williams,  from  the 
seventh,  in  place  of  William  Bartlit ;  and  Gideon  Hard 
was  re-elected  from  the  eighth  district.  In  the  senate 
elect  there  were  twenty-five  democrats,  six  whigs,  and 
one  Native  American.  The  abolitionists  supported  can- 
didates in  each  of  the  districts,  and  their  aggregate  sen- 
atorial vote  was  15,747.  The  votes  for  a  convention 
were  214,700  ;  and  against  it,  33,032 — showing  a  ma- 
jority in  favor  of  that  measure  of  181,668  ! 

Of  the  members  of  the  assembly  the  democrats  elected 
74,  the  whigs  52,  and  the  Anti-renters  elected  two  from 
the  county  of  Delaware. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  Gen.  ANDREW  JACKSON  died  at 
the  Hermitage  in  Tennessee.  He  retained  his  intellec- 
tual vigor,  his  fortitude  and  personal  courage,  which  he 
possessed  to  as  great  a  degree  as  any  human  being  who 
ever  lived,  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life.  One  of  the 
last  sentences  which  he  uttered  was,  "  I  have  fulfilled 
my  destiny  on  earth,  and  it  is  better  that  this  worn-out 
frame  should  go  to  rest,  and  my  spirit  take  up  its  abode 
with  the  Redeemer." 


1845. J  DEATH  OF  FRANCIS  DWIGHT.  573 

JACOB  SUTHERLAND,  who  had  been  in  public  life  more 
than  twenty  years,  died  at  Albany  on  the  13th  of  May, 
at  about  the  age  of  sixty  years.  In  the  year  1822  he 
was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  held 
that  station  for  fourteen  years,  when  he  resigned  the 
office.  He  was  not  only  a  learned  lawyer,  an  able,  im- 
partial, and  independent  judge,  but  a  man  of  genius  and 
elegant  literary  attainments.  His  death  was  deeply  felt 
and  universally  lamented. 

FUANCIS  DWIGHT,  the  editor  of  the  Common  School 
Journal,  and  superintendent  of  schools  in  the  county  of 
Albany,  died  on  the  15th  day  of  December.  We  have 
heretofore  spoken  of  this  amiable  and  excellent  man,  and 
yet  we  would  not  part  with  him  without  an  expression 
of  our  veneration  for  his  virtues,  and  "  a  lament,  which, 
alas !  is  unavailing,  that  he  should  have  been  taken  from 
us  in  the  prime  of  his  life,"  and  in  the  midst  of  his  use- 
fulness. It  is  pleasant  to  turn  from  viewing  the  fierce 
struggle  of  selfish  and  infuriated  politicians,  and  contem- 
plate retired  and  modest  virtue,  and  disinterested  but 
ardent  benevolence.  It  was  honorable  to  the  citizens 
of  Albany,  that  the  most  respectable  literary  associations 
of  that  city,  and  several  public  bodies,  held  meetings 
and  passed  resolutions  in  testimony  of  their  respect  for 
the  memory  of  this  truly  benevolent  and  meritorious, 
but  unpretending  individual. 


574  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Legislature  of  1846— Col.  Grain  and  Mr.  Bailey,  candidates  for  nomina- 
tion to  the  Speakership — Mr.  Grain  nominated  and  elected  Speaker — 
De'os  W.  Dean,  Clerk— Anti-Rent  Outrages— Trial  of  the  Insurgents 
in  Delaware  County — Judge  Parker — John  Van  Buren — Governor*? 
Message — Legislative  Proceedings — Debate  in  the  Senate  on  tho  Reso- 
lutions proposed  by  Mr.  Jones — Bill  on  the  subject  of  State  Printer — 
Proceedings  and  Debates  thereon  in  the  Senate  and  Assembly — Act 
abolishing  Distress  for  Rent— Mr.  A.  G.  Chatfield  chosen  Speaker  pro 
tern. — Col.  Young  elected  President  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate — R.  E. 
Temple  appointed  Adjutant-General — Hiram  Gray  appointed  Judge  of 
the  Sixth  Circuit— L.  H.  Sanford  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  First  District- 
Death  of  Jonas  Earl. 

ALTHOUGH  the  first  senatorial  district  had  lost  the  ser- 
vices of  Mr.  Varian,  late  mayor  of  New  York,  a  worthy 
man  and  fair-minded  legislator,  it  had  chosen  in  his 
place  Mr.  Edward  Sanford,  who,  without  assuming  to  be 
a  leader,  was  really  a  talented  and  useful  member. 

Col.  Young  and  Mr.  J.  A.  Spencer  added  greatly  to  the 
talents  in  the  senate.  Mr.  Spencer's  great  legal  learn- 
ing, industry,  and  abilities,  rendered  his  services  as  a 
member  of  the  court  of  dernier  resort,  of  inestimable 
value. 

In  the  assembly,  though  the  democratic  party  had  lost 
the  distinguished  and  able  gentleman  who  represented 
the  county  of  Oneida  the  preceding  year,  it  had  gained 
a  democratic  representation  from  the  city  of  New  York, 
among  whom  we  perceive  the  name  of  that  worthy  and 
excellent  legislator,  John  Townsend.  Mr.  Tilden,  from 


1846.]  MEMBERS  OF  THE   ASSEMBLY.  575 

New  York,  and  Mr.  John  D.  Stevenson,  whom  we  have 
mentioned  as  having  had  a  very  important  agency  in 
disclosing  the  Glentworth  misdemeanors,  were  influen- 
tial members  of  the  assembly,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
its  proceedings.  Mr.  J.  Leslie  Russell,  a  very  valuable 
member  of  the  last  assembly,  from  St.  Lawrence,  and  an 
estimable  man,  had  declined  a  re-election,  but  his  place 
was  supplied  by  Mr.  Bishop  Perkins,  of  Ogdensburgh,  a 
lawyer  of  long  standing  in  that  village,  and  of  a  charac- 
ter highly  respectable. 

In  consequence  of  a  local  question  in  Schoharie  re- 
specting the  site  for  a  new  courthouse,  General  Thomas 
Lawyer  and  Mr.  Thomas  Smith,  both  residents  of  the 
same  town,  (Cobleskill,)  were  elected,  although  the  for- 
mer was  a  leading  democrat,  and  the  latter  a  zealous 
whig.  Gen.  Lawyer  had  been  a  member  of  congress, 
and  his  age  and  experience  gave  him  much  weight  in  the 
house,  and  the  talents  and  industry  of  Mr.  Smith  ren- 
dered him  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  whigs. 

Andrew  G.  Chatfield,  who  had  formerly  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  assembly  from  Steuben,  was  again  returned 
from  that  county,  and  by  his  courtesy  and  conciliatory 
address,  as  well  as  by  the  tact  and  talent  evinced  by  him 
in  debate,  afforded  much  aid  to  the  democratic  party  in 
that  house. 

WINFIELD  SCOTT  SHERWOOD,  whom  we  have  hereto- 
fore mentioned  as  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for  the  ap- 
pointment by  Gov.  Bouck  to  the  office  of  adjutant-gen- 
eral, was  at  this  session  returned  as  a  member  from  the 
county  of  Warren,  and  proved  himself  to  be  one  of  the 
ablest,  as  he  was  one  of  the  most  zealous,  members  of 
the  hunker  section.  Before  this  session  closed,  Gov. 
Bouck  must  have  been  convinced  that  he  misjudged 


576  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

when  he  refused  to  appoint  him  to  the  office  for  which 
he  was  recommended  by  his  friends. 

That  frank  and  honest-hearted  man,  William  C.  Grain, 
from  the  county  of  Herkimer,  the  candidate  of  the  radi- 
cals for  speaker  against  Mr.  Seymour,  was  re-elected, 
and  again  appeared  at  the  capitol. 

But  the  most  talented  man  of  the  radical  party,  and 
perhaps  of  the  whole  democratic  party,  was  BENJAMIN 
BAILEY,  of  Putnam  county.  He  was,  as  will  be  recol- 
lected, a  member  of  the  last  assembly.  Judging  merely 
from  the  printed  reports  of  the  proceedings  of  that  body, 
(for  we  have  no  personal  acquaintance  with  him,)  we 
are  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  he  had  too  much  acer- 
bity of  temper,  but  he  certainly  did  possess  a  very  acute 
and  discerning  mind,  and  talents  of  a  high  order. 

The  whigs  had  several  men  in  this  assembly  of  very 
superior  talents.  Messrs.  John  Young  and  Alvah  Wor- 
den  were  again  returned  as  members  of  that  body.  Of 
the  tact,  address,  and  talents  of  these  gentlemen,  and 
also  of  Mr.  A.  W.  Young,  we  have  heretofore  spoken. 

Mr.  Lot  Clark,  from  the  county  of  Niagara,  was  for- 
merly a  very  active  and  efficient  democratic  Bucktail 
politician  from  the  county  of  Chenango,  and  in  the  year 
1824  was  elected  a  member  of  congress  from  the  dis- 
trict of  which  that  county  makes  a  part.  He  afterwards 
migrated  to  Florida,  but  being  dissatisfied  with  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  of  whom  from  early  life  he  was  a  zealous  friend, 
in  consequence  of  his  principles  in  relation  to  banking, 
and  his  recommendation  of  the  sub-treasury,  he  came 
out  in  opposition  to  the  administration,  and  upon  his  re- 
turn to  this  state  was  as  zealous  a  whig  as  he  had  for- 
merly been  a  democrat.  Mr.  Clark  is  a  man  of  great 
mental  resources,  active  and  energetic  in  all  the  pursuits 


1846.]  MEMBERS   OF  THE  ASSEMBLY.  577 

in  which  he  engages,  a  warm-hearted,  liberal  friend,  but 
an  uncomfortable  and  rather  formidable  opponent.  Mr. 
Clark  was  a  conservative  whig. 

IRA  HARRIS  was  re-elected  from  the  county  of  Albany. 
In  the  fall  of  1844  he  had  been  nominated  by  the  anti- 
renters  while  he  was  on  a  journey  to  the  far  West,  with- 
out his  knowledge,  and  without  any  pledges  that  he 
would  support  their  peculiar  views.  They  knew  his 
general  principles  with  regard  to  individual  rights,  and 
they,  as  all  who  were  acquainted  with  Ira  Harris  knew, 
that  he  was  a  man  of  integrity  and  honor,  and  they 
therefore  did  not  hesitate  to  select  him  as  their  candi- 
date. The  whigs  also  nominated  him,  and  he  was  elect- 
ed ;  and  in  the  same  way  he  was  re-elected  in  1845. 
Mr.  Harris  had,  before  this  time,  devoted  himself  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  and  was  scarcely  known  as  a 
politician ;  but  when  he  came  into  the  legislature,  he 
immediately  afforded  evidence  of  distinguished  talents 
and  political  tact,  and  he  is  now  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  elected  from  the  third  district,  and  discharges 
ably  the  duties  of  that  high  office. 

WILLIAM  G.  BLOSS  was  re-elected  from  the  county  of 
Monroe,  and  was  an  industrious  and  efficient  member. 

Dr.  JOHN  MILLER,  of  Courtland  county,  added  to  the 
whigs,  in  the  assembly  of  1846,  the  weight  of  his  char- 
acter and  the  benefit  of  his  counsel.  He  had,  on  several 
occasions  previously,  been  a  member  of  the  New  York 
legislature,  and  also  a  member  of  congress  from  the  dis- 
trict in  which  he  resided.  He  was  a  man  of  great  de- 
cision and  energy  of  character,  and  deservedly  highly 
esteemed  in  his  own  county  as  a  professional  man  and 
patriotic  citizen.  The  author  hopes  he  may  be  excused 
for  paying  this  tribute  of  respect  to  a  friend  of  long 
37 


578  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

standing,  and  one  with  whom  he  acted  during  the  wars 
between  the  Clintonians  and  Bucktails. 

Before  we  conclude  our  remarks  on  the  general  char- 
acter of  the  members  who  composed  the  legislature  of 
1846,  it  may  be  proper  to  ^state,  that,  although  we  have 
stated  that  the  county  of  Delaware  only,  elected  anti- 
rent  members,  the  members  from  several  other  counties, 
who  were  characterized  as  whigs  or  democrats,  were 
in  fact  elected  by  anti-rent  votes,  having  been  selected 
from  the  tickets  which  had  been  formed  by  the  whigs  or 
democrats,  and  nominated  by  anti-rent  conventions. 
Thus,  Ira  Harris  is  classed  as  a  whig,  and  Robert  D. 
Watson  and  Thomas  L.  Shafer  as  democrats,  from  Al- 
bany county,  who  were  in  truth  elected  by  the  balance- 
power  held  by  the  anti-renters.  The  same  remark  is 
applicable  to  the  ,\hig  members  returned  from  Rens- 
selaer,  and  we  presume  to  the  democratic  members  re- 
turned from  Columbia  counties. 

We  have  already  stated  that  there  were  seventy-four 
democratic  members  elected  to  the  assembly,  and  of 
these  a  large  majority  were  radicals.  The  public  mind 
was  therefore  prepared  to  expect  that  Col.  Grain,  having 
been  the  radical  candidate  the  last  year  for  speaker, 
against  Mr.  Seymour,  would  now  be  elected  to  that  of- 
fice without  opposition,  or  at  any  rate,  without  a  com- 
petitor from  the  ranks  of  the  radicals.  But  this  expec- 
tation did  not  prove  to  be  well  founded.  When  the 
members  collected  at  Albany,  Mr.  Bailey,  of  Putnam, 
was  supported  as  a  candidate  for  speaker  by  a  consider- 
able portion  of  them,  and  his  claims  were  zealously 
pressed.  A  caucus  was  held  on  the  evening  before  the 
day  when  the  session  was  to  commence,  attended  by 
seventy  members.  Mr.  Sydney  Lawrence,  from  Frank- 


1816.]  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  ASSEMBLY.  579 

lin  county,  formerly  a  senator,  was  chosen  chairman, 
when  the  members  proceeded  to  ballot  for  a  candidate 
for  speaker.  The  balloting  went  on,  until  the  name  of 
Gideon  O.  Chase,  from  Tioga,  was  called,  when  his  right 
to  vote  was  challenged  by  Mr.  Wells,  an  ardent,  but 
talented  young  man,  who  was  a  member  from  the  city 
of  New  York,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  been  elected 
in  opposition  to  a  regular  nominee  of  a  democratic  con- 
vention of  that  county.  This  was  a  new  question, 
but  his  right  to  vote  was  advocated  by  Mr.  Bailey,  and 
Mr.  Perkins,  of  St.  Lawrence  county,  and  his  ballot  was 
eventually  received.  The  result  of  the  balloting  was, 
that  Mr.  Grain  received  48  votes  and  Mr.  Bailey  22, 
whereupon  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Grain,  on  motion  ol 
Mr.  Bailey,  was  declared  to  be  unanimous.  The  meet- 
ing then  proceeded  to  ballot  for  clerk,  the  result  of  which 
was  that  Delos  W.  Dean,  of  Otsego  county,  obtained  40 
votes,  and  James  F.  Starbuck,  of  Jefferson  county,  33 : 
Mr.  Dean  was  thereupon  unanimously  declared  duly 
nominated. 

The  whigs  nominated  John  Young  for  speaker,  and 
George  W.  Weed  for  clerk. 

When  the  assembly  met  the  next  morning  for  organi- 
zation, Mr.  Grain  received  73  votes  for  speaker,  Mr. 
Young  44,  and  Mr.  Harris  7,  being,  as  is  presumed,  all 
the  anti-rent  votes  in  the  assembly,  except  his  own, 
which  he  gave  to  Mr.  Thomas  Smith.  Mr.  D.  W.  Dean 
was  elected  clerk  by  a  vote  of  77  to  48. 

The  governor  sent  in  his  message  at  the  usual  hour, 
but,  before  remarking  on  it,  we  will  state  what  ought  to 
have  been  related  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

During  the  summer  of  1845,  some  alarming  outrages 
were  committed  by  the  anti-rent  associations,  called  In- 


580  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1846. 

dians,  on  account  of  their  dress  and  artificial  color,  in 
the  counties  of  Columbia  and  Rensselaer.  The  law  to 
prevent  persons  appearing  disguised  and  armed,  did  not, 
as  it  was  hoped  it  would,  have  the  effect  to  prevent  or 
quiet  those  disturbances. 

In  Columbia  county,  a  deputy-sheriff  was  shot  at  and 
wounded,  and  various  other  outrages  were  committed. 
The  most  active  agent  in  exciting  those  disturbances 
(Doct.  Boughton)  was  arrested  and  brought  to  trial,  but 
all  the  jury  would  not  agree  to  convict  him.  On  a  sec- 
ond trial  he  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  the  state 
prison.  In  Delaware  and  Schoharie  frequent  riots  oc 
curred,  and  finally,  on  the  7th  of  August,  Mr.  Steel,  a 
deputy-sheriff,  and  a  very  worthy  citizen,  while  engaged 
in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties,  was  attacked  by  an 
armed  party,  and  inhumanly  murdered  in  open  daylight. 

The  party  styling  themselves  Indians  were  so  numer- 
ous in  the  county  of  Delaware,  and  so  bold  in  their  re- 
sistance to  the  law,  that  the  peaceable  citizens  of  that 
county  applied  to  Gov.  Wright  to  declare  the  county  in 
a  state  of  insurrection.  The  governor  acted  on  this 
emergency  with  great  promptness  and  energy.  He 
issued  a  spirited  proclamation,  and  at  the  same  time  or- 
dered out  an  efficient  military  force.  The"  proclamation 
pointed  out  the  enormities  which  had  been  committed, 
it  exhibited  with  great  clearness  and  force  the  necessity 
of  maintaining  law  and  order,  and  solemnly  appealed  to 
the  tenants,  who  felt  aggrieved  in  consequence  of  the 
rigorous  tenures  under  which  some  held  their  lands,  to 
seek  relief  and  redress  by  constitutional  measures  alone, 
and  to  support  the  laws  and  civil  institutions  of  the 
country  as  the  only  means  of  ensuring  the  preservation 
and  safety  of  their  own  lives  and  property. 


Ifilf).]  ANTI-RENT  TRIALS.  581 

"  To  the  disguised  men  themselves,"  said  the  governor, 
"and  those  less  worthy  than  they,  who  press  them  for- 
ward into  the  danger  from  which  they  themselves  shrink, 
I  have  only  to  say,  that  wrong  acts  never  serve  even  a 
good  cause  ;  that  persistence  in  crime  cannot  mitigate 
the  heavy  weight  upon  the  mind  and  conscience  of  the 
first  crime ;  and  that  no  disguises  are  perfect  enough  to 
protect  the  heart  from  the  eye  of  Him  who  sees  its 
thoughts  and  intents. 

"  For  the  sake  of  the  character  of  our  state,  and  of 
our  people,  as  well  as  for  the  peace,  and  prosperity,  and 
harmony  of  our  society,  I  earnestly  hope  that  the  day 
may  not  be  distant,  when  I  may  be  called  upon  to  dis- 
charge another  and  a  far  more  pleasant  duty,  under  a 
provision  of  the  same  law  under  which  I  now  act,  by 
revoking  this  proclamation. 

"  Yet  the  law  must  be  enforced.  Our  institutions 
must  be  preserved.  Anarchy  and  violence  must  be  pre- 
vented. The  lives  of  our  citizens  must  be  protected, 
and  murder  must  be  punished.  And  when  that  portion 
of  our  citizens  who,  now  transported  by  passion  and  led 
away  by  singular  delusions,  are  ready  to  strike  down 
the  law  and  its  ministers,  shall  become  convinced  that  a 
different  course  is  alike  the  part  of  wisdom  and  of  duty, 
and  shall  again  submit  themselves  to  the  laws  of  the 
state,  then,  and  not  before,  can  I  expect  to  be  permitted 
to  perform  that  more  pleasing  duty." 

A  special  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  was  soon  after 
held  by  Judge  Parker  in  the  county  of  Delaware,  (the 
county  in  which  he  commenced  and  pursued  his  pro- 
fessional business  until  he  was  appointed  judge,)  which 
continued  several  weeks.  A  considerable  number  of 
the  accused  were  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  punish- 


582  POI.ITJ:  -U,   iri.-iToKV   OF   NEW   YORK.  [1846 

inent  in  the  state  prison,  and  two  were  convicted  of 
murder,  and  sentenced  to  be  hung.  The  death  penalty 
was  afterwards  commuted  by  Gov.  Wright  for  confine- 
ment in  the  state  prison  during  life. 

It  was  conceded  by  all  that  Judge  Parker  presided 
during  these  numerous,  lengthy,  and  exciting  trials  with 
great  dignity,  impartiality,  and  firmness.  No  higher 
evidence  can  be  furnished  of  his  impartiality  than  the 
fact  that  in  1847,  when  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  of- 
fice of  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  although  the  anti- 
renters  in  the  county  of  Delaware  polled  a  majority  of 
the  votes,  Judge  Parker  obtained  a  large  majority  in 
that  county.  The  path  of  duty  is  not  only  the  road  to 
honor,  but  generally  leads  to  a  rich  reward. 

The  attorney-general,  John  Van  Buren,  attended 
these  trials  in  behalf  of  the  people,  on  the  requisition  of 
the  governor,  and  to  his  perseverance,  address,  and  pro- 
fessional skill,  aided  by  the  labors  and  industry  of  the 
district-attorney,  Mr.  Houston,  we  are  undoubtedly 
greatly  indebted  for  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order, 
by  the  repeated  verdicts  of  a  jury  taken  from  the  body 
of  the  county  of  Delaware,  many  of  whom,  it  is  fair  to 
presume,  when  impannelled,  were  strongly  biased  in 
lavor  of  the  anti-rent  cause. 

We  take  this  occasion  to  say,  that  there  is  something 
remarkable  in  the  brief  history  (for  he  is  yet  young)  of 
Mr.  John  Van  Buren.  Although  the  son  of  a  president 
of  the  United  States,  he  early  manifested  a  determina- 
tion not  to  content  himself  with  the  standing  in  society 
which  that  circumstance  gave  him,  but  to  create  a  cap 
ital  which  should  be  entirely  his  own,  independent  of 
the  reputation  of  his  father.  While  that  father  was 
president,  and  had  at  his  command  the  vast  patronage 


1846.]  JOHN   VAN   BUREN.  583 

which  the  constitution  devolves  on  the  national  exec- 
utive, John  Van  Buren,  instead  of  asking,  or  being  wil- 
ling to  receive  any  of  that  patronage,  or  wasting  his 
time  in  fashionable  circles  at  the  capitol,  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  court  pleasures  and.  court  blandishments,  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  at  Albany,  in  partnership 
with  Col.  M'Kown  of  that  city,  and  actively  and  assid- 
uously devoted  himself  to  the  common  business  and 
labors  of  a  law  office.  His  industry  and  legal  learning, 
independent  of  all  the  factitious  circumstances  with 
which  he  was  surrounded,  soon  elevated  him  to  a  dis- 
tinguished rank  in  his  profession.  It  is  no  disparage- 
ment to  the  late  president  to  say  that  John  Van  Buren 
possesses  talents  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  his  father.  If 
age  and  experience  in  social  and  public  life  shall  enable 
him  to  acquire  the  prudence  and  discretion  of  the  late 
president,  and  if  his  political  associations  shall  not  prove 
unfortunate,  the  prediction  is  by  no  means  hazardous, 
that  a  splendid  career  awaits  him. 

In  the  month  of  December,  the  governor  was  officially 
informed  that  the  insurrection  was  suppressed,  and  on 
the  18th  of  that  month  he  issued  a  proclamation  revo- 
king the  previous  one.  No  serious  disturbances  after- 
wards occurred.  The  firmness  and  vigorous  action  of 
Gov.  Wright,  during  all  these  alarming  attempts  to 
prostrate  the  laws  of  the  state,  merited  and  received 
high  commendations  from  all  well-disposed  citizens  of  the 
community,  and  richly  entitle  him  to  the  gratitude  of 
this  and  all  succeeding  generations.  • 

It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  message  of 
Gov.  Wright  was  able  and  well  written.  His  exordium 
is  beautiful. 

"  We  are  assembled,"  says  the  governor,  "  to  perform 


581  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846- 

the  highest  and  most  responsible  duties  pertaining  to 
civil  government.  Other  departments  are  charged  with 
the  administration  and  execution  of  the  law.  Upon  the 
legislature  is  devolved  the  duty  of  making  the  law.  Its 
action  is  the  rule  of  administration  and  execution.  That 
action  is  over  all  and  rests  upon  all.  It  binds  the  con- 
duct of  men  to  the  extent  of  the  extreme  penalty  of  hu- 
man life,  and  the  interests  of  men  to  the  extent  of  every 
thing  which  can  be  held  as  property." 

He  then  proceeds  to  give  a  history  of  the  anti-rent 
disturbances  and  outrages,  and  arrives  at  the  conclusion 
that  they  have  substantially  subsided ;  and  he  adds — 

"  In  my  former  communication  to  the  legislature  upon 
this  subject,  I  stated  that  I  considered  myself  precluded 
from  discussing,  or  even  considering,  the  real  merits  of 
the  differences  existing  between  the  landlords  and  the 
tenants,  by  the  violent  and  criminal  conduct  of  those 
who  assumed  to  act  for  the  latter,  and  in  their  name, 
and  apparently  by  their  approbation ;  and  who  had 
changed  the  issue  to  one  between  sustaining  the  law, 
preserving  the  public  peace,  and  protecting  the  rights 
and  lives  of  unoffending  citizens  on  the  one  side,  and 
armed  resistance  against  the  law,  wanton  disturbances 
of  the  peace,  and  aggravated  trespasses  on  the  rights 
and  lives  of  individuals  on  the  other." 

But  inasmuch  as  resistance  to  the  laws  was  now  dis- 
continued, and  the  peace  of  community  was  restored, 
the  governor  felt  authorized  to  propose  and  recommend 
the  following  measures  for  the  alleviation  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  tenantry : 

"  1.  That  distress  for  rent  accruing  on  all  leases  exe- 
cuted in  future,  shall  be  abolished. 

"2.  Taxing  the  landlord  for  his  income  by  means  of  rent. 


1840.]  GOVERNOR'S  MESSAGE.  585 

"3.  That  the  duration  of  the  time  of  all  leases  to  be 
executed  should  he  restricted  to  five  or  ten  years." 

From  the  returns  of  the  last  census,  (taken  in  1845,) 
the  governor  states  that  "  the  entire  population  of  the 
state  is  shown  to  be  2,604,495,  being  an  increase,  since 
the  census  of  1840,  taken  in  obedience  to  the  constitu- 
tion and  laws  of  the  United  States,  of  188,574,  a  little 
more  than  seven  and  a  half  per  cent,  for  the  five 
years." 

On  the  subject  of  the  finances  of  the  state,  the  gov- 
ernor presents  a  very  clear  view, — that  is,  so  far  as  a 
very  complicated  system  can  be  rendered  clear.  For 
ourselves,  we  confess  the  great  number  of  separate 
funds,  such  as  the  canal  fund,  the  general  fund,  the  liter- 
ature fund,  the  bank  fund,  &c.,  with  which  our  financial 
officers  keep  an  account,  and  the  condition  of  which  they 
exhibit  to  the  people  in  their  reports,  seem  rather  to 
throw  into  obscurity  and  cast  a  veil  of  mystery  over  our 
financial  operations,  than  to  enlighten  us  in  relation  to 
the  monetary  affairs  of  the  state.  The  loan  of  money 
from  the  school  fund  to  the  general  fund,  and  the  in- 
debtedness of  the  canal  fund  to  the  bank  fund,  convey 
to  a  stranger  very  imperfect  ideas  of  the  debts  and  cred- 
its of  the  state.  These  things  may  be  necessary  and 
convenient  for  the  accounting  officers,  but  to  those  un- 
schooled in  the  mysteries  of  keeping  accounts  in  the 
mode  practised  by  the  financial  officers,  they  seem  as 
useless  as  if  an  individual  were  to  keep  an  account  of 
the  moneys  transferred  from  one  pocket  to  another.  We 
cannot  perceive  how  the  supposed  individual  would  be 
aided  in  arriving  at  a  safe  and  certain  conclusion  in  re- 
spect to  his  real  pecuniary  condition,  by  charging  his 
jacket-pocket  with  the  money  transferred  to  it  from  his 


586  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

breeches-pocket,  or  his  wallet  with  money  taken  from 
his  side-pocket  and  deposited  there  for  greater  safety. 

The  governor  states  the  canal  debt  at  that  time  un- 
paid and  unprovided  for,  at  $16,644,815  57;  and  the 
canal  tolls  received  during  the  preceding  fiscal  year  at 
$2,646,458  78.  At  that  time  there  were  1,145,250  vol- 
umes in  the  common  school  libraries  in  the  state,  and 
11,018  school  districts. 

In  allusion  to  the  national  politics,  the  governor  re- 
marks, that  "  as  a  declaration  of  the  policy  of  the  present 
administration  of  the  federal  government,  the  message 
of  the  president  appears  to  me  to  justify  the  confidence 
entertained  by  the  country  in  the  publicly  avowed  prin- 
ciples of  the  man,  and  to  realize  the  expectations  natu- 
rally excited  by  his  elevation  to  the  high  trust  he  holds. 
The  re-establishment  of  the  independent  treasury  was 
confidently  anticipated  as  a  result  of  his  election,  and 
that  great  measure  could  not  have  been  more  distinctly 
or  strongly  recommended  to  congress,  than  it  is  in  this 
message.  The  principles  put  forth  as  those  which  should 
govern  an  adjustment  of  the  laws  for  the  collection  of 
our  revenue  from  the  customs,  are  also  those  the  coun- 
try had  a  right  to  expect  from  his  public  declarations 
upon  that  subject.  They  appear  to  me  to  be  substan- 
tially the  principles  upon  which  alone  a  tariff  of  duties 
upon  imports  can  be  adjusted,  which  will  have  a  prom- 
ise of  permanency,  or  which  will  give  reasonable  satis- 
faction to  the  different  sections  of  our  widely-extended 
country,  and  to  all  the  various  interests  to  be  affected." 

He  concludes  his  message  and  his  remarks  on  the 
condition  of  the  nation,  with  expressing  the  following 
just  and  patriotic  sentiment : 

"  Whether  these  favorable  anticipations  as  to  the  con- 


1846.]  MR.  JONES'S  RESOLUTIONS.  587 

tinued  peace  of  our  country  are  to  be  realized  or  no.t, 
can  vary  little  the  calls  of  public  duty  upon  us.  To  ex- 
empt our  people,  as  far  as  may  be  in  our  power,  from 
the  incumbrance  of  debt  and  the  burden  of  taxation,  and 
to  secure  to  them  the  fullest  measure  of  prosperity  which 
unfettered  industry  can  earn,  is  alike  the  course  of  wis- 
dom in  either  event.  In  such  a  condition,  they  will  be 
best  prepared  for  the  profitable  enjoyment  of  peace,  or  to 
meet  the  scourge  of  war ;  and  if  our  deliberations  and 
action  shall  be  unitedly  and  earnestly  directed  to  these 
ends,  we  may  reasonably  hope  for  the  continued  smiles 
of  that  Almighty  Power  who  holds  the  destinies  of  na- 
tions in  His  hand,  and  who  has  hitherto  protected  our 
country  and  her  institutions  against  every  hostile  as- 
sault." 

So  far  as  relates  to  general  legislation,  little  business 
was  transacted  during  this  session.  Very  few  important 
bills  were  passed  into  laws. 

Two  important  political  questions  were  discussed  at 
great  length,  and  occupied  a  large  portion  of  the  time 
of  the  legislature.  These  were  joint  resolutions  offered 
by  Mr.  Jones  in  the  senate,  approving  of  the  annexation 
of  Texas,  claiming  the  whole  of  Oregon,  in  favor  of  an 
independent  treasury,  and  against  a  protective  tariff, 
and  the  bill  on  the  subject  of  the  state  printing.  The  lat- 
ter, however,  may  be  regarded  rather  as  a  party  ques- 
tion, more  directly  between  the  hunkers  and  radicals, 
than,  strictly  speaking,  a  political  measure. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  session,  immediately  after  the 
senate  was  organized  for  business,  and  before  the  gov- 
ernor's message  was  delivered,  Mr.  Jones  laid  on  the 
table  the  following  resolutions  : 

"  Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That  this  legis- 


588  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

lature  approve  of  the  course  of  those  of  their  senators 
and  representatives  in  the  congress  of  the  United  States, 
who  have  been  the  firm  and  consistent  supporters  of  the 
great  measure  of  the  age,  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the 
territory  of  this  Union,  and  who,  by  their  timely  and  en- 
ergetic action,  have  helped  to  bring  it  to  an  honorable 
consummation. 

"  Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That  this  legis- 
lature entertain,  and  now  desire  to  express,  their  unqual- 
ified approval  of  the  course  and  policy  of  the  president 
of  the  United  States  upon  the  subject  of  the  American 
claim  to  Oregon ;  that  our  title  to  the  whole  of  that  ter- 
ritory is  unquestionable ;  and  that  we  rely  with  confidence 
upon  the  wisdom  and  firmness  of  our  popular  and  patri- 
otic chief  magistrate,  acting  upon  and  practically  carry- 
ing out  the  commendable  maxim  of  his  lamented  prede- 
cessor, to  demand,  as  well  as  submit  to,  nothing  but 
what  is  right,  so  to  dispose  of  this  important  question,  as 
that  the  interests  and  honor  of  the  nation  shall  be  pro- 
moted and  preserved. 

"  Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That  our  sena- 
tors in  congress  be  instructed,  and  our  representatives 
requested  to  exert  their  influence  to  procure,  at  the  ear- 
liest possible  period,  the  passage  of  a  law  establishing 
'  an  Independent  Treasury,'  for  the  safe-keeping  of  the 
public  moneys. 

"  Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That  we  are 
opposed  to  a  national  bank,  and  that  our  senators  in 
congress  be  instructed,  and  our  representatives  request- 
ed to  oppose  the  incorporation  of  such  an  institution. 
by  whatever  name  or  in  whatever  form  it  may  be  pre- 
sented. 

"  Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That  we  are  op- 


1846.]  ME.  PORTER'S  RESOLUTIONS.  589 

posed  to  any  tariff  laws  whose  object  shall  be  protection 
instead  of  revenue  ;  that  we  are  in  favor  either  of  a  re- 
peal of  the  present  law,  or  such  a  modification  of  it,  as 
that  in  case  of  discrimination  and  incidental  protection, 
all  the  great  interests  of  the  country,  to  wit,  agriculture, 
the  mechanic  arts,  commerce,  and  manufactures,  may 
be  put  upon  an  equal  footing,  and  that  our  senators  in 
congress  be  instructed,  and  our  representatives  be  re- 
quested to  carry  into  effect  these  resolutions. 

"  Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That  the  present 
chief  magistrate  of  the  United  States,  in  the  ability  and 
wisdom  with  which  he  has  conducted  the  administration 
of  the  government,  has  fully  met  the  most  sanguine  ex- 
pectations of  the  American  people,  and  this  legislature 
cannot  avoid  expressing  the  high  gratification  which  it 
feels,  in  having  at  this  time  at  the  head  of  the  govern- 
ment an  individual  who  has  the  clearness  to  perceive, 
the  boldness  to  protect,  and  the  patriotism  to  preserve 
and  maintain,  the  honor  and  fame  of  our  beloved  coun- 
try." 

Whereupon  Mr.  Porter  proposed  the  following  as  a 
substitute : 

"  Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That  the  sena- 
tors in  congress  from  this  state  be  instructed,  and  the 
representatives  from  this  state  be  requested,  to  aid,  by 
their  influence  and  their  votes,  in  procuring  the  passage 
of  a  law  for  establishing  a  constitutional  treasury  for  the 
safe-keeping  of  the  public  moneys  ;  and  for  thus  separa- 
ting the  financial  affairs  of  the  government  from  those 
of  banking  institutions,  according  to  the  views  of  the 
president,  as  expressed  in  his  message. 

"Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That  the  said 
senators  be  instructed,  and  the  said  representatives  be 


590  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW   YORK.  [1846. 

requested,  to  use  their  best  efforts  to  secure  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  tariff,  in  conformity  with  the  principle? 
upon  that  subject  set  forth  in  the  president's  message. 

"  And  whereas,  the  title  of  the  United  States  to  the 
whole  of  Oregon  is  clear  and  unquestionable  ;  yet  still, 
with  a  view  to  an  amicable  arrangement  of  the  conflict- 
ing claims  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  to 
that  territory,  our  government  have  repeatedly  offered  a 
very  liberal  proposition,  but  which  has  been  rejected  : 

"  Therefore,  Resolved,  (if  the  assembly  concur,)  That 
although  war  is  a  great  calamity,  yet  that  a  sacrifice  of 
national  honor  is  a  greater ;  and  i£  Great  Britain  shall 
still  adhere  to  her  unfounded  pretensions,  and  shall  make 
on  her  part  no  proposition  on  the  subject  of  an  amicable 
arrangement,  which  our  government  shall  deem  accept- 
able, and  war  shall  be  the  consequence,  that  the  state 
of  New  York  will  stand  side  by  side  with  her  sister 
states,  in  defence  of  her  rights  to  the  Oregon  territo- 
ry. And  further,  that  notice  of  the  termination  of  the 
joint  occupancy  should  be  promptly  given ;  and  that 
such  measures  as  may  be  consistent  with  treaty  obliga- 
tions, and  as  are  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the 
rights  and  interests  of  the  United  States,  and  of  their 
citizens  who  now  are,  or  may  become  residents  of  that 
territory,  or  may  be  emigrating  thither,  should  forthwith 
be  provided  by  congress  ;  and  that  the  said  senators  be 
instructed,  and  the  said  representatives  be  requested,  to 
use  their  exertions  to  secure  the  passage  of  laws  on 
these  subjects,  as  recommended  in  the  message  of  the 
president." 

It  will  be  perceived  that  Mr.  Porter's  resolutions  were 
silent  on  the  subject  of  Texas,  and  that  they  do  not  in- 
sist  on  the  whole  of  Oregon. 


1846.]        DEBATE  ON  THE  RESOLUTIONS.  591 

The  cause  of  this  extraordinary  haste  in  getting  these 
resolutions  before  the  senate  and  the  public,  will  natu- 
rally excite  the  curiosity  of  the  reader. 

It  was  well  known  that  Mr.  Wright  and  Mr.  Van 
Buren  were  opposed  to  annexation,  when  that  meas- 
ure was  recommended  by  Mr.  Tyler;  and  it  was  also 
well  known  that  Colonel  Young  and  Mr.  Porter,  and 
several  other  radical  senators,  accorded  with  Mr. Wright 
and  Mr.  Van  Buren  in  opinion.  The  hunkers  had  al- 
ready intrenched  themselves  pretty  strongly  at  Wash- 
ington. Gov.  Marcy  was  at  the  head  of  one  of  the 
executive  departments,  Judge  Nelson  was  on  the  bench 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  Mr. 
Dickinson,  a  zealous,  active,  and  indefatigable  politician, 
was  in  the  United  States  senate.  Gen.  Dix,  however 
was  at  Washington,  and  his  influence,  from  his  address 
and  weight  of  character,  it  was  believed,  would  be  con- 
siderably felt.  The  hunkers  were  also  well  aware  of  the 
high  standing  of  Gov.  Wright  in  the  nation,  and  the  pro- 
found respect  for  his  opinions  entertained  by  several  of  the 
men  in  power  at  the  national  capitol.  The  leading  hun- 
kers must  also  have  recollected  the  pledges  which  were 
made  at  the  Baltimore  Convention,  by  some  of  the  most 
powerful  friends  of  Mr.  Polk.  They  therefore,  in  order 
to  intrench  themselves  still  stronger  at  Washington, 
wished  to  make  up  an  issue  with  the  radicals  on  the 
question  of  the  annexation  of  Texas, — a  question  which 
they  well  knew  Mr.  Polk,  and  the  whole  South,  viewed 
with  extreme  sensibility. 

The  resolutions  of  Mr.  Jones  and  Mr.  Porter  were 
referred  to  the  committee  of  the  whole,  and  when  they 
came  up  for  discussion,  Col.  Young  made  a  very  able 
speech  in  opposition  to  the  first  resolution  offered  by 


592  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

Mr.  Jones.  On  the  28th  of  January,  the  discussion  was 
renewed,  and  Mr.  Jones  made  a  speech  in  support  of  his 
resolutions,  in  which  he  divided  the  opposers  of  the  ad- 
mission of  Texas  into  five  classes.  "  First,"  said  he, 
"  the  English  nation  ;  second,  the  French  nation  ;  third, 
the  abolitionists  ;  fourth,  the  greater  portion  of  the  whig 
party  ;  fifth,  a  small  portion  of  the  democratic  party. 
With  regard  to  the  four  first  divisions,  I  do  not  design 
to  comment  at  all,  or  to  make  any  remarks,  except  in 
the  way  of  reference.  It  is  in  regard  to  the  last  divi- 
sion, a  portion  of  the  democracy,  that  I  design  to  com- 
ment. And  firstly,  I  propose  to  divide  this  last  division 
still  farther,  and  more  minutely.  The  portion  of  the 
democratic  party  who  have  thrown  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  the  consummation  of  this  great  measure,  may  be  con- 
sidered as  divided  into  three  subdivisions.  The  first 
consists  of  those  who  have  separated  from  the  party  on 
this  question,  and  organized  a  party  distinct  from  the 
democratic  party.  The  second  division  is  of  those  who 
were  originally  opposed  to  the  annexation  of  Texas,  but 
have  now  mainly  abandoned  that  opposition.  The  third 
class  ape  those  who  were  originally  opposed  to  the  an- 
nexation, still  continue  opposed,  and  exhibit  a  settled 
dislike  to  hear  any  discussion  or  agitation  of  the  ques- 
tion. Among  those  who  I  suppose  properly  belong  to 
this  last  class,  I  beg  leave  to  mention  the  gentleman  who 
now  represents  this,  the  Albany  district,  in  the  house  of 
representatives  of  the  United  States,  the  Hon.  Bradford 
R.  Wood  ;  the  gentleman  who  represents  the  Onondaga 
district,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Wheaton ;  and  the  gentleman 
who  represents  the  St.  Lawrence  district,  the  Hon. 
Preston  King." 

A  long  and  very  desultory  debate  ensued,  which  con- 


1846.]  PERSONAL  ALTERCATIONS.  593 

tinued  from  time  to  time  for  weeks  and  months.  A  very 
wide  range  was  taken.  Those  who  took  part  in  the  de- 
bate, and  most  of  the  senators  did,  reviewed  the  conduct 
of  political  men  and  parties  for  many  preceding  years. 
A  bitter  personal  altercation  occurred  between  Mr. 
John  C.  Wright  and  Gen.  Clark  on  one  side,  and  Col. 
Young  on  the  other.  In  these  altercations,  the  merits 
of  the  question  before  the  senate  seemed  to  be  wholly 
overlooked,  and  personal  crimination  and  recrimination 
was  pursued  to  an  extent  unprecedented  in  that  body. 
Who  commenced  these  personal  attacks,  we  are  unable 
to  state,  but  in  the  progress  of  the  debate  Col.  Young's 
assailants  reviewed  his  whole  political  life,  and  animad- 
verted upon  some  parts  of  it  with  great  severity.  If 
these  gentlemen  (Messrs.  Wright  and  Clark)  evinced 
much  talent,  and  they  certainly  did,  especially  Mr. 
Wright,  in  this  war  with  their  formidable  opponent,  they 
also  exhibited  much,  indeed  we  may  say  extreme  bitter- 
ness. All  the  acerbity  of  Col.  Young's  temper  was  called 
into  action,  and  he  was  by  no  means  behind  his  oppo- 
nents in  severe  and  bitter  denunciations.  It  was  no 
trifling  undertaking  for  a  man  who  had  acted  a  distin- 
guished part,  and  been  a  warm  partisan  in  New  York 
for  nearly  half  a  century,  to  give  an  account  of  every 
public  act  of  his  whole  life  ;  but  so  far  as  related  to  his 
own  course,  as  a  public  man,  for  nearly  forty  years, 
he  defended  himself  with  great  energy,  and  of  course 
with  eminent  ability.  He  also  traced  the  history  of 
what  he  denominated  the  conservative  party  through 
many  previous  years.  He  charged  them  with  advoca- 
ting profuse  and  unnecessary  expenditures  of  public 
money  for  the  benefit  of  individuals,  of  being  the  friends 
3f  monopoly,  and  the  cause  of  much  corrupt  legislation 
38 


594  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NKW  YORK.  [1846. 

in  relation  to  moneyed  institutions.  He  claimed  that 
his  opponents  were  the  legitimate  representatives  of  that 
party,  and  denounced  them  with  peculiar  and  indignant 
severity,  which  can  better  be  conceived  by  those  who 
are  acquainted  with  him  than  described. 

Mr.  Spencer  made  almost  the  only  speech  on  the  mer- 
its of  the  question  involved  in  the  resolution.  He  ar- 
gued that  the  annexation  of  Texas,  by  joint  resolution, 
was  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  constitution,  and  that  its 
real  object  was  the  extension  and  perpetuation  of  slave- 
ry, and  the  internal  slave-trade.  "  The  resolution,"  he 
said,  "  spoke  of  annexation  as  the  great  measure  of  the 
age.  It  was  indeed  the  great  measure  of  the  age  ;  for 
with  a  longer  stride  and  a  more  iron  tread  than  any 
measure  of  this  or  any  other  age,  it  had  broke  through 
every  constitutional  barrier,  and  under  circumstances  still 
more  extraordinary  had  triumphed.  He  regarded  it  as 
scarcely  less  extraordinary  and  unwarranted  than  would 
be  a  proposition  to  annex  England,  France,  Scotland, 
Germany,  or  Russia,  to  the  United  States.  But  he 
should  view  it  solely  with  reference  to  the  fact  that  with 
Texas  had  come  slavery,  and  a  surrender  of  the  power 
of  the  North  to  the  South.  Why  the  North  should  have 
been  so  much  in  love  with  the  South  as  to  consent  to 
this  surrender,  he  was  unable  to  say.  Was  it  because 
Georgia,  in  defiance  of  the  laws  of  congress,  had  im- 
prisoned the  missionaries  invited  thither  by  the  United 
States,  and  promised  security  and  protection  ?  Was  it 
because  Georgia  had  set  at  naught  the  decision  of  the 
United  States  courts,  and  refused  to  set  the  prisoners 
free  ?  Was  it  because  the  executive  of  the  Union  omit- 
ted to  enforce  the  mandate  of  the  Supreme  Court  against 
Georgia?  Was  it  because  South  Carolina  had  expelled 


1846.]  ALBANY  ATLAS.  595 

from  her  borders  the  agent  sent  by  Massachusetts  to  test 
the  right  of  that  state  to  imprison  colored  seamen  from 
the  North  ?  Was  it  because  citizens  of  Ohio  had  been 
seized  by  the  authorities  of  Virginia,  on  the  soil  of  Ohio, 
on  the  charge  of  aiding  in  the  escape  of  slaves  ?  But 
the  deed  was  done,  Texas  was  annexed,  and  its  '  lone 
star,'  'obscured  by  the  black  cloud  of  slavery,  twinkled  in 
the  constellation  of  American  states.  The  power  of  the 
North  had  been  basely  surrendered.  The  South  now 
controlled  the  legislation  of  this  Union,  and  we  of  the 
North  must  succumb  to  their  will." 

The  senate  continued  from  time  to  time  to  discuss  in 
committee  these  resolutions  from  the  6th  of  January  to 
the  30th  of  March,  when,  by  a  vote  of  twelve  to  nine, 
that  body  refused  to  make  them  the  special  order  for  any 
subsequent  day,  and  they  finally  died  in  the  hands  of 
the  committee  of  the  whole.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
but  that,  including  the  whigs,  there  was  a  majority  in 
the  senate  opposed  to  the  resolution  which  purported 
to  approve  of  the  annexation  of  Texas. 

The  Albany  Atlas,  as  we  believe  we  have  somewhere 
before  stated,  was  established  as  a  commercial  and  city 
paper  by  Messrs.  Vance  and  Wendell,  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  year  1840.  In  September,  1842,  Mr.  French  re- 
ceived an  assignment  of  Mr.  Wendell's  interest,  and  in 
1843  Mr.  Vance  died.  Mr.  William  Cassidy,  who  had 
occasionally,  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Vance,  written  ed- 
itorial articles  for  the  paper,  after  his  death  became  a 
joint  proprietor  of  the  Atlas,  and  one  of  its  editors.  Mr. 
French  employed  Mr.  O'Riley,  who  had  conducted  a 
democratic  newspaper  at  Rochester,  to  act  as  co-editor 
with  Mr.  Cassidy.  In  this  way  the  editorial  department 
was  conducted,  with,  as  is  generally  believed,  the  occa- 


596  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

sional  aid  of  Mr.  Van  Dyck,  until  August,  1846,  when 
Mr.  French  transferred  his  interest  in  the  establishment 
to  Mr.  Van  Dyck,  who  has  since  been  a  co-editor  of  the 
paper.  From  the  time  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Messrs. 
French  and  Cassidy,  it  was  conducted  with  great  spirit 
and  energy,  and  from  the  year  1843  down  to  the  session 
of  1846,  and  indeed  to  the  present  time,  has  been  the 
recognised  organ  of  the  radical  party. 

When,  in  1843,  the  war  between  the  Atlas  and  the 
Argus  was  publicly  declared,  Mr.  Weed,  of  the  Journal, 
after  noticing  it,  good-humoredly  remarked,  that  he  did 
not  intend  to  take  any  part  in  the  controversy,  but  he 
could  assure  his  neighbors  of  the  Atlas  they  had  engaged 
in  no  sham  fight ;  that  they  must  expect  to  receive  as 
well  as  give  blows ;  that  he  had  been  warring  with  the 
editor  of  the  Argus  for  more  than  sixteen  years,  and  had 
found  him  a  very  uncomfortable  opponent.* 

By  the  act  "  To  provide  for  the  public  printing," 
passed  in  1843,  the  state  printer  was  to  be  chosen  in 
joint  ballot  by  the  two  houses,  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
other  state  officers  were  appointed,  and  hold  his  office 
for  the  same  term.  Under  this  act,  Mr.  Croswell  was 
appointed  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1843,  as  has  been 
before  stated.  His  term  of  office,  therefore,  expired  in 
January  of  this  year. 

We  have  before  remarked  that  the  radicals  comprised 
a  large  majority  of  the  democratic  members  in  this  legis- 
lature. The  feeling  which  induced  that  party  in  1843 
to  oppose  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Croswell  to  the  office 
of  state  printer,  had,  from  a  variety  of  circumstances,  be- 
come more  intense  and  inflamed. 


*  We  quote  from  memory,  not  having  the  paper  before  ua,  and  are  i 
we  do  not  do  justice  to  the  keenness  and  wit  of  Mr.  W. 


1846.]  STATE  PRINTER.  597 

At  a  caucus  held  soon  after  the  organization  of  the 
legislature  by  a  majority  of  the  democratic  members, 
William  Cassidy  was  nominated  state  printer.  What 
was  to  be  done  ?  Mr.  Croswell  undoubtedly  felt  that 
much  of  his  political  standing  in  the  state  and  nation  de- 
pended on  defeating  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Cassidy ; 
and  how  could  that  object  be  accomplished  ?  Mr.  Cros- 
well was  a  caucus  man  "  of  the  most  straitest  sect."  If 
there  was  any  thing  sacred  with  him  in  party  obligations, 
to  support  caucus  nominations  was  among  those  which 
were  deemed  the  most  so.  In  this  dilemma,  never  did  he 
afford  higher  evidence  of  skill  and  address  than  he  ex- 
hibited on  this  occasion,  unless,  perhaps,  his  successful 
project  of  supporting  "  NEW  MEN,"  at  the  last  nomination 
of  state  officers,  may  be  considered  as  rivalling  the  inge- 
nuity displayed  by  him  in  the  controversy  about  the  ap- 
pointment of  state  printer.  He  did  not  seriously  attempt 
to  prevent  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Cassidy,  but  he  and  his 
friends  in  the  legislature  concocted  a  scheme  in  effect 
abolishing  the  office  for  which  his  opponent  had  been 
designated  in  caucus. 

The  whigs  were  strengthened  in  the  assembly  and  sen- 
ate, and  now,  as  in  1845,  held  the  balance  of  power, 
headed  by  that  able  manager,  John  Young,  between  the 
hunkers  and  the  radicals.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to 
devise  some  scheme  which  would  command  their  sup- 
port. We  scarce  need  say  that  they  did  not  desire  to 
see  either  Croswell  or  Cassidy  state  printer,  and  there- 
fore were  for  abolishing  the  office. 

On  the  15th  of  January,  Mr.  Porter  brought  into  the 
senate  a  bill  respecting  the  public  printing.  It  consisted 
of  two  sections  only,  the  first  of  which  repealed  the  third 
section  of  the  act  of  1843,  which  provided  that  each  house 


598  POLITICAL.  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846 

should  elect  its  own  printer,  to  print  and  publish  its  jour- 
nals and  legislative  documents  ;  and  the  second  section 
directed  that  that  part  of  the  .public  printing  should  be 
done  by  such  persons  as  would  agree  to  do  it  at  the  low- 
est price.  By  this  bill  the  residue  of  the  act  of  1843  was 
left  in  full  force. 

On  the  same  day,  and  immediately  after  Mr.  Porter's 
bill  was  announced  and  read,  Mr.  J.  C.  Wright  offered 
an  amendment  to  it,  or  rather  a  substitute  for  it.  Mr. 
Wright's  bill  provided  that  the  legislative  printing  should 
be  done  by  contract,  substantially  in  the  manner  pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Porter,  but  that  "  the  office"  of  state  printer 
should  be  abolished,  and  that  all  notices  then  required  by 
law  to  be  published  in  the  state  paper,  should  be  publish- 
ed in  a  newspaper  printed  in  the  city  of  Albany.  The 
substitute  left  the  name  of  the  paper,  in  which  those 
notices  were  to  be  published,  blank.  A  heated  and  an- 
gry debate,  or  rather  altercation,  immediately  followed, 
conducted  chiefly  by  Messrs.  Porter  and  Young  on  one 
side,  and  Messrs.  Wright,  Clark,  and  Jones  on  the  other. 
The  committee  of  the  whole,  however,  which  had  the 
subject  under  consideration,  rose  without  at  that  time 
arriving  at  any  decision. 

On  the  20th  of.  January,  Mr.  Sands  offered  a  concur- 
rent resolution  in  the  assembly,  that  the  two  houses  on 
the  next  day  proceed  to  elect  a  state  printer.  This  res- 
olution was  laid  on  the  table  by  the  votes  of  all  the 
whigs  and  a  few  of  the  democrats,  among  whom  were 
Messrs.  Dean,  Sherwood,  Stevenson,  Watson,  and  Wells. 
There  were  63  votes  in  the  affirmative  and  57  in  the 
negative. 

The  bill  in  the  senate  was,  after  considerable  angry 
discussion  in  committee  of  the  whole,  amended  so  that 


1846.]  STATE  PRINTING   BILL.  599 

the  state  officers  should  at  the  time  and  in  the  same 
manner  as  in  that  act  was  provided,  issue  proposals  and 
receive  sealed  bids  for  the  printing  and  publishing,  once 
in  each  week,  in  a  newspaper  printed  in  Albany,  of  all 
notices  then  required  by  law  to  be  published  in  the  state 
paper,  at  so  much  for  each  and  every  folio  contained  in 
any  notice ;  and  that  the  state  officers  should  award  the 
printing  of  these  notices  to  the  lowest  bidder.  The  bill 
repealed  the  act  of  1843,  and  abolished  the  office  of  state 
printer. 

The  bill  in  this  form  was  warmly  and  ably  advocated 
by  Mr.  Croswell  in  the  Argus  as  a  great  measure  of  re- 
form. Indeed,  upon  general  principles  it  was  difficult  to 
produce  even  a  plausible  objection  against  it,  as  it  con- 
tained provisions  that  the  most  ample  security  should  be 
given  by  the  contractors  for  the  faithful  performance  of 
their  duty.  It  is  true  there  were  many  party  considera- 
tions which  might  have  been  urged  against  its  adoption, 
but  these  considerations  all  know  are  better  felt  and  sug- 
gested in  secret  conclave,  than  publicly  avowed  in  the 
deliberations  and  discussions  of  grave  legislative  bodies. 

When  the  committee  of  the  whole  rose  and  reported 
the  bill,  various  attempts  were  made  to  amend  it,  but 
were  effectually  resisted  by  the  combined  vote  of  the 
whigs  and  hunkers.  On  its  final  passage  there  were  20 
votes  in  favor  of  it,  and  1 1  against  it, — all  the  radicals 
voting  in  the  negative,  except  Mr.  Lester,  who  voted  in 
the  affirmative. 

During  the  time  this  matter  was  being  discussed  in 
the  senate,  Mr.  Sands  made  several  ineffectual  attempts 
to  induce  the  assembly  to  consider  the  resolution  he  had 
offered  for  the  election  of  state  printer.  This  delay  was 
undoubtedly  caused  by  a  desire  of  the  majority  that  the 


600  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW    YORK.  [1846. 

senate  should  act  definitively  on  Mr.  Wright's  bill  before 
the  resolution  should  be  sent  to  that  house.  A  few  min- 
utes after  the  final  passage  of  the  bill  in  the  senate,  the 
resolution  of  Mr.  Sands  was  taken  from  the  table,  adopt- 
ed by  a  large  majority,  and  sent  to  the  senate  probably 
before  the  senate's  bill  was  delivered  to  the  assembly. 
Mr.  Clark,  when  the  resolution  of  the  assembly  was  an- 
nounced, moved  that  its  consideration  be  postponed  until 
the  first  Tuesday  of  June.  The  adoption  of  Mr.  Clark's 
motion  was  fiercely  opposed,  but  it  finally  passed  by  a 
vote  of  17  to  11. 

When  the  printing  bill  came  into  the  assembly  it  en- 
countered a  furious  opposition.  The  discussions  on  the 
subject  were  long  continued  and  extremely  bitter.  Many 
speeches  were  delivered,  and  much,  quite  too  much,  ac- 
rimony was  evinced.  During  all  this  war  of  words  the 
whigs  preserved  a  most  respectful  silence  ;  but  when  any 
question  was  taken,  every  man  of  them  voted  against 
all  proposed  alterations  of  the  bill  as  it  came  from  the  sen- 
ate, and  on  the  final  passage,  all  voted  in  the  affirmative. 
On  that  occasion  there  were  66  ayes  and  53  noes.  The 
bill  became  a  law  by  the  approval  of  Gov.  Wright. 

Mr.  Croswell,  one  would  suppose,  under  the  influence 
of  an  inflexible  and  stern  resolution,  that  no  man  should 
profit  by  opposing  him,  in  connection  with  his  worthy 
and  excellent  partner  and  relative,  Mr.  Sherman  Cros- 
well, delivered  proposals  to  the  comptroller  to  print  the 
notices,  of  which  we  have  spoken,  free  of  charge,  and  to 
this  day  they  are  printing  and  publishing  in  the  Albany 
Argus  those  notices,  (and  there  are  many  of  them,)  with- 
out being  paid  a  single  cent  for  their  materials,  labor,  or 
trouble. 

A  law  was  passed  abolishing  distress  for  rent,  and  fa- 


1840. J  ELECTION  OF  SPEAKER  PRO  TEM.  601 

cilitating  the  remedy  by  re-entry  on  lands  for  enforcing 
the  payment  of  rent.  This  act  was  intended  as  a  con- 
ciliatory measure  towards  the  anti-renters,  but  indeed  is 
right  in  itself.  There  can  be  no  reason  why  a  debt  for 
rent  should  be  held  more  sacred  than  any  other  debt,  or 
why  a  creditor  for  rent  should  have  a  more  speedy  and 
better  remedy  for  the  collection  of  his  debt  than  the  man 
who  loans  money  to  his  neighbor  ;  but  whether,  where  in 
leases  executed  before  the  passing  of  the  act,  it  is  ex- 
pressly covenanted  that  the  landlord  may  enter  and  dis- 
train for  rent  in  arrear,  this  law  is  not  void  by  the  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  may  well  be  questioned. 

On  the  7th  of  March  the  speaker,  Col.  Grain,  having 
occasion  to  be  absent  a  few  days,  the  appointment  of  a 
speaker  pro  tern,  became  necessary  ;  and  Mr.  Bailey,  the 
chairman  of  the  committee  of  ways  and  means,  was 
nominated  in  the  house  by  Mr.  Coe,  a  prominent  whig 
member,  to  fill  that  station.  None  of  Mr.  Bailey's  friends 
anticipated  opposition  to  the  motion,  but  Mr.  Stevenson, 
a  hunker  member  from  the  city  of  New  York,  rose  and 
moved  that  the  choice  of  a  speaker  pro  tern,  should  be 
made  by  ballot,  and  his  motion  was  adopted.  The  house 
then  immediately  proceeded  to  a  ballot ;  and  the  result 
was, — Mr.  A.  G.  Chatfield  received  50  votes,  Mr.  Bailey 
45,  and  Mr.  Worden  3.  This  incident  is  so  trifling  that 
it  would  not  deserve  to  be  mentioned,  did  it  not  show  the 
extreme  bitterness  which  prevailed  between  the  hunkers 
and  radicals.  Having  mentioned  it,  however,  we  feel 
bound  to  add  that  the  position  occupied  by  Mr.  Steven- 
son in  relation  to  this  transaction  cannot  be  regarded  as 
at  all  enviable.  If  he  really  believed  he  had  good  reasons 
to  oppose  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Bailey,  he  should  have 
stated  them  openly,  and  suffered  the  question  to  be  taken 


602  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846 

on  the  resolution  in  an  open,  manly  manner,  by  ayes  and 
noes.  The  resort  to  a  secret  ballot  was  a  kind  of  assas- 
sin-like policy  instead  of  honorable  warfare. 

In  the  senate,  on  the  7th  of  April,  an  attempt  was  made 
to  elect  a  president  pro  tern.  Mr.  Lott,  who  was  in  his 
last  year  of  service,  was  proposed  by  his  friends.  The 
choice  was  to  be  made  by  open  nomination.  The  result 
was  14  for  Mr.  Lott  and  12  for  Col.  Young,  and  2  scat- 
tering votes.  Of  course  no  person  was  appointed.  In 
this  case  all  the  radicals  voted  against  Mr.  Lott.  There 
could  be  no  personal  objections  against  Mr.  Lott,  who 
was  distinguished  for  his  courtesy  towards  his  political 
opponents,  and  was,  as  we  have  reason  to  believe,  high- 
ly esteemed  by  all  his  fellow-members.  In  this  case, 
however,  the  opposition  was  not  concealed,  but  open. 
Some  time  afterwards  Col.  Young  was  chosen  president 
pro  tern.,  and  upon  taking  the  chair,  assured  the  senate 
that  he  had  no  agency  in  becoming  the  opposing  candi- 
date to  Mr.  Lott. 

Thomas  Farrington,  the  former  treasurer,  was  during 
this  session  again  chosen  to  that  office.  When  elected, 
he  was  adjutant-general  of  the  state ;  upon  his  being 
elected  treasurer,  he  resigned  the  office  of  adjutant- 
general,  and  the  governor  appointed  Robert  E.  Temple 
to  fill  the  office  thus  vacated. 

This  was  an  excellent  appointment.  Col.  Temple  was 
a  well-educated,  enterprising,  chivalrous  young  man,  who 
had  received  a  military  education,  and  was  universally 
popular.  At  this  moment  he  commands  a  regiment,  and 
is  in  the  service  of  his  country  in  some  of  the  Mexican 
territories. 

The  term  of  Judge  Parmelee  as  recorder  of  Albany, 
who  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Seward.  and  was  deserved- 


1846.]  APPOINTMENTS  BY  THE  GOVERNOR.  603 

ly  one  of  his  favorites,  had  expired,  and  thereupon  the 
governor  and  senate  appointed  Col.  James  M'Kown  his 
successor.  Of  Col.  M'Kown  we  have  spoken  in  a  pre- 
ceding volume.*  The  Argus  speaks  in  the  following 
well-merited  complimentary  terms  of  the  appointment 
of  Mr.  M'Kown,  and  also  of  his  predecessor  : 

"  Yesterday,  the  senate  confirmed  the  nomination  of 
Col.  M'Kown  to  the  office  of  recorder  of  this  city.  Col. 
M'Kown  is  thus  restored  to  an  office,  the  duties  of  which, 
for  many  years,  he  discharged  with  the  clearest  ability, 
and  with  conceded  impartiality  and  integrity.  The  se- 
lection may  be  said  to  meet  with  universal  approval.  It 
is  simple  justice  to  say  of  the  retiring  magistrate,  Mr. 
Recorder  Parmelee,  that  he  goes  out  with  a  high  repu- 
tation for  talents  and  official  fidelity." 

The  office  of  circuit  judge  of  the  sixth  circuit  had  be- 
come vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Judge  Monell,  who 
was  appointed  to  succeed  Judge  Sutherland  as  clerk  of 
the  Supreme  Court  at  Geneva.  The  governor  appointed 
Hiram  Gray,  of  Elmira,  the  successor  of  Judge  Monell. 
Although  from  his  excellent  social  qualities,  integrity, 
and  impartiality,  the  people  of  the  district  regretted  the 
retirement  of  Judge  Monell,  the  appointment  of  Judge 
Gray  was  deservedly  popular.  He  had  been  a  member 
of  congress  from  the  district  in  which  he  resided,  and 
sustained  himself  creditably  in  that  station,  and  was  a 
man  of  remarkable  urbanity  in  his  social  intercourse,  and 
a  sound  and  able  lawyer. 

The  governor  and  senate  during  this  session  made 
another  excellent  judicial  appointment,  which  was  that  of 
Lewis  H.  Sanford  as  vice-chancellor  in  the  city  of  New 


«  1  Political  History,  p.  523 


604  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1840. 

York.  He  is  a  very  learned  man  and  an  able  judge.  His 
appointment  was  hailed  as  a  most  fortunate  and  judi- 
cious one,  not  only  by  the  bar  of  New  York,  but  by  the 
legal  profession  throughout  the  state. 

Although  Mr.  Wright  was  complained  of  by  the  hun- 
kers for  leaning  too  much  towards  the  radicals  in  the 
distribution  of  the  state  patronage,  the  highly  important 
appointments  just  mentioned  were  certainly  very  judi- 
cious and  beneficial  to  the  community. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  it  is  with  painful  sensations 
we  record  the  death  of  an  old  and  valuable  state  officer. 
We  allude  to  Jonas  Earl,  of  Onondaga  county,  who  for 
many  years  was  a  canal  commissioner,  and  who  had,  we 
believe,  been  twice  elected  senator  of  this  state.  He 
died  at  Syracuse  in  October.  A  meeting  of  the  bar  of 
Syracuse  was  held  on  the  occasion  :  Judge  Pratt  presi- 
ded, and  among  other  resolutions  introduced  by  Mr.  H. 
Baldwin,  and  adopted  by  the  meeting,  was  the  following : 

"Resolved,  That  in  the  retrospect  of  the  well-spent 
life  of  our  friend,  while  we  mourn  his  loss,  we  find  much 
to  assuage  our  sorrow  and  console  our  grief  in  his  un- 
blemished and  spotless  life — in  the  purity  of  his  character 
as  a  citizen  and  as  a  man — in  the  scrupulous  fidelity  with 
which  he  discharged  all  the  high  and  multiplied  public 
trusts  which,  for  a  period  of  more  than  thirty  consecutive 
years,  were  by  his  confiding  fellow-citizens  committed  to 
his  hands — in  his  safe  and  prudent  counsel  as  a  member 
of  the  legal  profession,  which  he  adorned — and  in  his 
devout  and  consistent  bearing  as  a  professed  and  humble 
follower  of  our  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour." 

We  are  sure  all  who  knew  Mr.  Earl  will  admit  that 
this  eulogy  was  well  merited. 


1846.]  MEMBERS  OP  THE  CONVENTION.  605 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CONVENTION. 

Place  of  birth  of  the  Delegates— John  Tracy  elected  President— A  Com- 
mittee of  seventeen  appointed  to  report  on  subjects  to  be  considered  by 
the  Convention — Their  Report — Debate  on  restricting  the  eligibility  of 
citizens  for  the  office  of  Governor — On  the  Executive  Veto — On  tho 
Legislative  Department — Report  of  the  Judiciary  Committee — Of  the 
persons  who  composed  that  committee— Proceedings  on  Mr.  Chatfield's 
Report  (No.  6)  on  the  State  Officers— On  Gen.  Talhnadge's  Report, 
from  No.  11,  on  Rights  and  Privileges — Proceedings  in  Committee  of 
the  Whole  on  the  Report  from  the  Judiciary  Committee — Mr.  Hoff- 
man's Report  on  Canals,  the  Public  Revenue,  &c.,  from  No.  3— Pro- 
ceedings in  Committee  of  the  Whole  on  Mr.  Hoffman's  Report — Mr. 
Cambreling's  Speech  on  Currency  and  Banking — Debate  on  the  ques- 
tion of  extending  to  colored  freemen  an  equal  Right  of  Suffrage — Mr. 
Clyde's  Resolutions  in  relation  to  the  Tenure  of  Real  Estate — Final  ad- 
journment of  the  Convention — Concluding  Remarks. 

THE  election  of  delegates  to  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion in  1846,  in  most,  if  not  all  the  counties  in  the  state, 
was  made  a  party  question,  and  the  democratic  party 
succeeded  in  electing  a  majority  of  them.  Messrs.  Har- 
ris, Shaver,  Stanton,  and  Willard,  from  Albany  county, 
Jordan  (though  then  residing  in  New  York)  and  Clyde, 
from  Columbia  county,  Waterbury  and  Burr,  from  Dela- 
ware county,  and  Van  Schoonhoven,  Warren,  and  Wit- 
beck,  from  Rensselaer  county,  were  nominated  and  sup- 
ported by  the  anti-renters,  and  were  claimed  by  that 
party  as  their  representatives.  Judge  Nelson,  from  Ot- 
sego  county,  and  William  Maxwell,  from  Chemung, 
were  democrats,  but  were  elected  in  opposition  to  the 
regularly-nominated  democratic  candidates  in  the  coun- 


606  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OP  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

ties  they  respectively  represented.  It  ought,  however, 
to  be  stated,  that  both  the  democratic  and  whig  parties 
seemed  to  have  been  impressed  with  the  importance  of 
selecting  their  ablest  and  best  men  to  represent  them  in 
this  assembly.  We  shall  not  undertake  to  designate  the 
many  distinguished  individuals  of  which  this  body  was 
composed.  To  allude  by  name  to  individual  members, 
eminent  for  their  talents  and  for  their  standing  in  society, 
might  be  deemed  invidious.  It  must  therefore  suffice  to 
say,  that  if  we  pass  in  review  the  whole  body,  they  con- 
stituted an  assemblage  of  men  of  great  experience  and 
weight  of  character,  and  highly  distinguished  for  their 
talents,  patriotism,  and  private  and  public  virtues. 

There  was  one,  and  but  one,  of  the  members  of  this 
convention  who  was  a  member  of  the  convention  of  1821. 
That  member  was  Gen.  JAMES  TALLMADGE,  from  the 
county  of  Dutchess.  It  will  be  recollected  that  each 
county  was  entitled  to  the  same  ratio  of  representation 
in  the  convention  as  under  the  then  existing  constitution 
it  had  in  the  assembly.  Of  course  the  whole  number  of 
delegates  was  128.  Of  this  number  43  were  farmers, 
45  lawyers,  8  physicians,  12  merchants,  6  mechanics,  2 
surveyors,  1  banker,  1  furnace-man,  1  dealer  in  paints,  1 
blacksmith,  1  printer,  1  engineer,  1  miller,  1  manufactu- 
rer, 1  iron-master,  1  geologist,  1  teacher,  and  1  author. 
Three  of  the  delegates  were  natives  of  Ireland,  one  of 
Scotland,  12  of  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  13  of  Connec- 
ticut, 6  of  New  Hampshire,  6  of  Vermont,  3  of  Rhode 
Island,  1  of  Maine,  2  of  Pennsylvania,  3  of  New  Jersey, 
1  of  North  Carolina,  1  of  Virginia,  1  of  Maryland,  and 
the  residue,  being  75,  were  born  in  the  state  of  New  York. 

The  convention  assembled  on  the  1st  day  of  June,  and 
were  called  to  order  by  Mr.  Benton.  the  secretary  of 


1S4G.]  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  CONVENTION.  607 

state.  On  the  roll  being  called,  it  appeared  that  all  the 
members  elected  were  present  except  three :  these 
were  Judge  Nelson  of  Otsego,  Mr.  Porter  of  Saratoga, 
and  Mr.  Young  of  Wyoming,  all  of  whom  in  a  day  or 
two  after  appeared  and  took  their  seats  as  delegates. 

The  democratic  members  had,  previous  to  their  meet- 
ing, held  a  caucus,  at  which  Mr.  John  Tracy,  of  Che- 
nango,  formerly  lieutenant-governor,  had,  \vith  great 
unanimity,  been  nominated  as  their  candidate  for  presi- 
dent, and  upon  balloting,  after  the  house  organized,  it 
appeared  that  69  votes  were  cast  for  him  for  that  office, 
and  he  was  thereupon  declared  duly  elected.  The  whigs 
voted,  some  for  one  and  some  for  another  candidate  :  the 
highest  vote  given  by  them  to  any  individual  was  11, 
which  were  cast  for  Mr.  Worden,  of  Ontario.  The 
truth  was,  the  whigs  came  to  an  understanding  that  they 
would  not  act  as  a  party  in  this  convention.  They 
therefore  wisely  avoided  any  appearance  of  a  party  or- 
ganization in  choosing  a  president.  This  determination 
was,  as  afterwards  appeared,  not  only  judicious,  as  a 
measure  of  party  policy,  but  the  effect  on  the  future  ac- 
tion of  the  convention  was  auspicious.  Had  the  whigs 
exhibited  sA  the  commencement  of  the  session  a  party 
organization,  by  making  a  useless  fight  about  the  selec- 
tion of  a  presiding  officer,  it  probably  would  have 
aroused  party  prejudices  and  jealousies,  which  would 
have  been  developed  in  the  course  of  the  subsequent 
deliberations  of  the  convention,  and  which  could  not 
have  failed  to  produce  results  injurious  to  the  great 
and  permanent  interests  of  community.  Francis  Star- 
buck,  of  Jefferson  county,  and  Henry  W.  Strong,  of 
Rensselaer  county,  late  senator,  were  appointed  secre- 
taries. A  few  days  afterwards,  June  12,  it  was  ascer- 


608  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

tained  that  the  services  of  an  assistant-secretary  were 
required,  and  Francis  Seger  of  Lewis  county,  who  had 
served  several  years  as  clerk  of  the  assembly,  and  had 
been  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  was  put  in  nomina- 
tion. Tlie  election  of  Mr.  Seger  was  not  effected  until 
after  three  ballotings.  The  whigs  were  desirous  of  elect- 
ing Mr.  P.  B.  Prindle,  the  present  worthy  clerk  of  the 
assembly,  and  at  the  two  first  ballotings,  he  received 
more  votes  than  Mr.  Seger.  At  the  third  and  last  bal- 
loting Mr.  S.  obtained  55  and  Mr.  Prindle  53  votes. 
Still  there  was  no  choice,  because  no  person  had  a  ma- 
jority of  all  the  votes,  whereupon  Mr.  Worden,  a  friend 
of  Mr.  Prindle,  and  a  leading  whig  member,  moved  the 
appointment  of  Mr.  Seger,  and  the  convention  unani- 
mously  concurred  in  the  motion. 

After  the  organization  of  the  convention,  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  its  officers,  one  of  its  first  movements  was 
to  adept  a  resolution,  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Jones,  of  New 
York,  to  "  appoint  a  committee  of  seventeen  (two  from 
each  senatorial  district  and  one  from  the  state  at  large) 
to  consider  and  report  to  the  convention  the  best  prac- 
tical mode  of  proceeding  to  a  revision  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  state." 

Such  committee  was  appointed,  who  soon  after  re- 
ported fifteen  resolutions,  each  embracing  different  and 
important  subjects  to  be  considered  in  the  revision,  and 
to  be  referred  to  separate  committees.  These  resolu- 
tions were  referred  to  the  committee  of  the  whole,  and 
after  being  considered,  the  convention  finally  adopted 
eighteen  resolutions,  and  the  president  thereupon  ap- 
pointed the  following  gentlemen  on  the  committees,  to 
consider  and  report  on  the  subjects  respectively  re- 
ferred : 


1846.]  APPOINTMENT  OF  COMMITTEES.  609 

1.  On  tJie  apportionment,  election,  tenure  of  office,  and  compensation 
of  the  legislature.— Messrs.  W.  Taylor,  R.  Campbell,  Salisbury,  White, 
Burr,  Sanford,  W.  B.  Wright. 

2.  On  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  legislature,  except  as  to  matters 
otherwise  referred. — Messrs.  Stetson,  Powers.  Miller.  St.  John,  Harrison, 
J.  J  Taylor,  McNitt. 

3.  On  canals,   internal  improve/neiita,  public  revenues  and  property, 
public  debt,  and  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  legislature  in  reference 
thereto  ;  and  the  restrictions,  if  any,  proper  to  be  imposed  upon  the  ac- 
tion of  the  legislature  in  making  donations  from  the  public  funds,  and 
in  making  loans  of  the  moneys  or  credit  of  the  state. — Messrs.  Hoffman, 
Tildeji,  Gebliard,  Hunter,  W.  H.  Spencer,  Greene,  Richmond. 

4.  On  the  elective  franchise — the  qualifications  to  vote  and  hold  office. 
—Messrs.    Bouck,  Gardiner,  Kennedy,  Dodd,  Dorlon,  Wood,  E.  Hunt- 
ington. 

5.  On  the  election,  tenure  of  offire,  compensation,  powers,  and  duties 
(except  the  power  to  appoint  or  nominate  to  office)  of  the  governor  and 
lieutenant-governor. — Messrs.  Morris,  Porter,  Hyde,  Kingsley,  Pennimaii, 
Clark,  Waterbury. 

6.  On  the  election  or  appointment  of  all  officers,  other  than  legislative 
and  judicial,  and  the  governor  and  lieutenant-governor,  whose  duties 
and  powers  are  not  local,  and  their  powers,  duties,  and  compensation. 
—Messrs.    Chatfield,    Perkins,    Kemble,    Strong,   Nicholas,    Dauforth, 
Shaver. 

7.  On  the  appointment  or  election  of  all  officers  whose  powers  and  du- 
ties are  local,  and  their  tenure  of  office,  powers,  duties,  and  compensa- 
tion.— Messrs.  Angel,  Jones,  Archer,  Dubois,  Maxwell,  Hawley,  Shaw. 

8.  On  the  militia  and  military  officers. — Messrs.  Ward,  Chamberlain, 
McNiel,  Bruce,  Stanton,  Kernan,  A.  Wright. 

9.  On  official  oaths  and  affirmations  ;  and  the  competency  of  witnesses, 
and  0'iths  and  affirmations  in  legal  and  equity  proceedings. — Messrs. 
Rhoades,  Baker,  Forsyth,  Cornell,  Bruudage,  Brayton,  Hotehkius. 

10.  On  the  judiciary,  and  the  appointment  or  election  of  judicial  offi- 
cers, and  their  tenure  of  office  and  compensation. — Messrs.    Ruggles, 
O'Conor,  Kirkland,  Brown,  Jordan,  Loomis,  Worden,  Simmons,  Bascom, 
Hart,  Stephens,  Patterson,  Sears. 

11.  On  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  citizens  of  this  state. — Messrs. 
Tallmadge,  Ayrault,   Swackhamer,  Parish,   D.   D.  Campbell,  Witbeck, 
Yauger. 

12.  On  education,   common  schools,  and    the    appropriate  funds. — 
Messrs.  Nicoll,  Munro,  Bowdish,  A.  W.  Young,  Tathill,  Willard,  Hunt 

13.  On  future  amendments  and  revisions  of  the.  constitution. — Messrs. 
Marvin,  Riker,  Vache,  Cook,  Nellis,  Graham,  J.  Young. 

14.  On  the  organization  and  powers  of  cities  and  incorporated  vil- 
lages, and  especially  their  power  of  taxation,  assessment,  borrowing 

39 


610  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OP  NEW  YORK.  [1840. 

money,  contracting  debts,  and  loaning  their  credit. — Messrs.  Murphy, 
Allen,  Stow,  Mann,  Crocker,  Van  Schoonhoven,  Sheldon. 

15.  On  the  power  of  counties,  towns,  and  other  municipal  corpora- 
tions, except  cities  and  incorporated  villages,  and  especially  their  pow- 
er of  local  legislation,  taxation,  assessment,  borrowing  money,  and  con- 
tracting debts.— Messrs.  Brown,  R.  Campbell,  F.  F.  Backus,  Smith,  Tafft, 
Flanders,  Candee. 

16.  On  the  currency  and  banking. — Messrs.  Cambreling,  Russell,  Dor- 
Ion,  Townseiid,  E.  Spencer,  Cuddeback,  Taggart. 

17.  On   incorporationn  other  than    banking   or  municipal. — Messrs. 
Loomis,  Shepard,  Bergen,  Dana,  Conelly,  H.  Backus,  Warren. 

18.  On  the  creation  and  division  of  estates  in  lands. — Messrs.  Nelson, 
Harris,  Flanders,  Bull,  A.  Huntingdon,  Hutchinson,  Clyde. 

Of  the  subjects  thus  referred,  it  will  readily  be  per- 
ceived that  the  third,  in  relation  to  canals,  internal  im- 
provements, public  revenue  and  public  debt ;  the  sixth, 
on  the  election  and  appointment  of  officers ;  the  tenth, 
on  the  judiciary  ;  and  the  sixteenth,  on  the  currency  and 
banking,  were  the  most  important,  and  had  most  en- 
gaged the  public  attention. 

Various  other  important  matters  were,  on  the  motion 
of  individual  members,  referred  to  the  standing  com- 
mittees, according  as  the  matter  referred  appeared  to  be 
analogous  to  the  legitimate  duties  of  the  respective  com- 
mittees. Thus,  Mr.  Kirkland,*  of  Oneida,  on  the  llth 
of  June  proposed  the  following  resolutions  : 


*  Mr.  Kirkland  is  a  lawyer  of  high  standing  and  character  in  the  city 
of  Utica.  Owing,  partly  to  a  division  in  the  democratic  party  in  the 
county  of  Oneida,  but  it  is  presumed  chiefly  to  the  personal  regard  felt 
for  his  talents,  and  confidence  in  his  discretion  and  integrity,  he  obtarned 
his  election,  although  at  that  time  the  democratic  majority  in  Oneida  must 
have  been  more  than  one  thousand.  The  great  personal  popularity  of 
Mr.  Henry  Brayton,  who  was  also  a  successful  candidate  on  the  same 
ticket  with  Mr.  K.,  probably  contributed  to  produce  the  result. 

I  take  the  present  occasion  to  supply  au  omission  in  the  second  volume 
of  my  Political  History.  At  page  511  of  that  volume  it  is  stated,  that  at 
;i  whig  caucus  in  the  winter  of  1839,  held  for  the  purpose  of  nominating 
an  attorney-general,  J.  A.  Spencer.  S.  Stevens,  and  Willis  Hall  were  can- 


1846.]  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  GOVERNOR.  611 

"  Resolved,  That  the  judiciary  committee  be  instructed  to 
report  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  depriving  judicial 
officers  of  all  power  of  appointment  to  office. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  judiciary  committee  be  instructed  to 
report  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  prohibiting  all  judi- 
cial officers,  except  justices  of  the  peace,  from  receiving  any 
fees  or  perquisites  for  official  services. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  judiciary  committee  be  instructed  to 
report  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  abolishing  the  Court 
for  the  Correction  of  Errors,  as  now  organized." 

Mr.  Rhoades,  the  late  senator  from  Onondaga,  offered 
the  following  resolution,  which  was  adopted  : 

"  Resolved,  That  it  be  referred  to  the  committee  on  the 
powers  and  duties  of  the  legislature  to  inquire  into  the  expe- 
diency of  so  amending  the  constitution  as  to  require  the  pas- 
sage of  laws  prohibiting  any  officer  connected  with  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice  in  this  state  from  aiding  in  the  arrest  or 
detention  of  any  person  claimed  as  a  fugitive  from  slavery  or 
involuntary  servitude." 

And  Mr.  Stephen  Allen,  from  New  York,  brought  for- 
ward a  proposition  to  abolish  that  part  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  1821,  which  requires  in  any  case  the  votes  of 
two-thirds  of  the  legislature  in  order  to  pass  a  law,  ex- 
cept such  bills  as  might  be  vetoed  by  the  governor. 

The  first  serious  discussion  which  took  place  in  the 
convention  on  the  subject  of  alterations  in  the  constitu- 
tion, was  that  on  the  report  of  Mr.  Morris  on  the  exec- 
utive department. 

The  constitution  of  1821  provided  that  the  governor 
should  be  a  native  citizen  of  the  United  States,  a  free- 


didates,  and  that  each  received  a  respectable  support.  I  ought  to  have 
stated  that  Mr.  Kirklaud  was  also  made  a  candidate  by  his  friends  for 
that  important  office,  and  that  a  respectable  portion  of  the  whig  party 
were  anxiously  desirous  for  his  appointment. 

J.  D.  H. 


612  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

holder,  thirty  years  old,  and  should  have  been  five  years 
a  resident  of  the  state.  The  report  proposed  no  altera- 
tions in  relation  to  the  qualifications  of  the  governor, 
except  that  it  expunged  that  part  of  the  old  constitution 
which  required  that  he  should  be  a  freeholder.  The  first 
alteration  of  the  report  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Murphy, 
who  moved  to  strike  out  the  word  "  native"  This  mo- 
tion brought  up  the  question  whether  an  adopted  citizen 
should  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  governor.  The  amend- 
ment was  supported  by  Mr.  Patterson,  an  able  whig 
member  from  Chautauque,  and  the  same  gentleman  who 
was  speaker  of  the  assembly  in  the  year  1839-40.* 
Other  members  took  the  same  side  of  the  question,  and 
although  Mr.  Murphy's  amendment  encountered  some 
opposition,  it  was  adopted  by  a  large  majority.  Mr. 
Patterson  then  moved  to  strike  out  that  part  of  the  sec- 
tion which  required  that  the  governor  should  be  thirty 
years  old ;  and  finally,  Mr.  Russell,  of  St.  Lawrence, 
moved  to  strike  out  the  whole  section,  and  insert  in  lieu 
of  it  the  following  : 

"  Any  citizen  of  the  United  States  qualified  to  vote  at  the 
general  election  at  which  he  may  be  elected,  shall  be  eligible 
to  the  office  of  governor." 

This  amendment,  if  adopted,  it  will  be  perceived, 
would  abolish  all  restrictions  except  that  of  being  a 
qualified  voter.  This  called  out  a  protracted  and  able 
debate,  in  which  nearly  all  the  floor  members  took  part. 
In  support  of  the  proposition  it  was,  among  other  things, 
urged,  that  the  electors  themselves  were  competent  to 
judge  of  the  qualifications  of  the  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor, and  that  the  whole  matter  should  and  ought  to 


»  2  Political  History,  pp.  504-519. 


1846.]  SPEECH  OF  MR.  PORTER.  613 

be  left  to  their  sovereign  will  and  pleasure.  That  al 
though  it  might  be,  and  undoubtedly  was,  necessary  to 
restrict  the  power,  and  place  guards  around  the  legisla- 
tive, judicial,  and  executive  departments  of  the  govern 
ment,  composed  of  persons  who  were  the  mere  agents 
of  the  people,  and  therefore  liable,  from  incapacity,  or 
from  sinister  or  corrupt  motives,  to  abuse  the  trust  re- 
posed in  them,  there  could  be  no  possible  danger  that 
the  majority  of  the  people  at  the  polls  of  the  election 
would  prostitute  the  elective  franchise  by  a  sacrifice  of 
their  own  rights  or  interests,  or  put  either  in  jeopardy. 
Or  if  they  did  err,  they  alone  were  competent  to,  and 
ultimately  would,  correct  the  error.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  was  contended  that  the  very  object  and  intent  of  a 
written  constitution  was  to  adopt  certain  great  and  lead- 
ing principles  which  should  never  be  violated,  and  to  fix 
certain  limits  over  which  the  people  themselves,  in  a 
moment  of  haste,  of  want  of  correct  information,  or  of 
excited  passion,  could  not  pass. 

This  debate  put  in  requisition  all  the  speaking  talent 
of  the  convention,  and  much  ability  was  displayed  du- 
ring its  progress.  For  Mr.  Russell's  amendment,  O'Con- 
or,  Worden,  Brown,  of  Orange,  and  Chatfield,  deliver- 
ed uncommonly  able  arguments ;  and  against  it,  Sim- 
mons, Tallmadge,  Jordan,  and  several  others,  distin- 
guished themselves.  One  of  the  ablest  arguments  in 
support  of  the  section,  as  reported  by  the  committee, 
was  made  by  Mr.  Porter,  of  Saratoga,  who  was  himself 
a  member  of  the  select  committee.  Mr.  Porter  is  a 
young  man,  and  we  believe  never  was  before  a  member 
of  any  legally  constituted  deliberative  body. 

Mr.  Porter  pointed  out  the  distinction  between  per 
sonal  rights  and  eligibility  to  office.     Even  the  right  to 


014  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

be  an  elector  was  a  conventional  right,  fixed  and  settled 
by  a  compact  of  the  people  when  they  formed  their  fun- 
damental or  organic  laws.  Had  not  the  young  man, 
aged  twenty  years  and  six  months,  as  much  natural 
right  to  have  a  voice  in  the  choice  of  his  rulers,  as  the 
young  man  of  twenty-one  years  of  age  ?  Why  had  not 
females,  especially  those  who  hold  property,  a  natural 
right  to  vote  at  the  elections  ?  Our  constitution,  ever 
since  the  organization  of, our  civil  government  as  a  state, 
had  designated  the  description  of  persons  who  should 
exercise  the  elective  franchise.  The  convention  not 
only  represented  those  who  elected  them,  but  a  million 
and  a  half  of  other  people.  "  The  right  to  be  free,"  said 
Mr.  Porter,  "was  a  natural  right.  It  was  the  right  of 
every  citizen  to  exercise  his  voice  in  the  selection  of  his 
rulers,  but  it  was  not  his  right  to  be  selected  as  one  of 
the  rulers. 

"  This  question,"  said  Mr.  Porter,  "  was  argued  in  a  mas- 
terly manner  the  other  day  by  the  gentleman  from  New  York, 
(Mr.  O'Conor,)  but  he  appealed  to  that  distinguished  man  if 
he  had  not  adopted  a  fallacy  that  was  subversive  of  the  whole. 
Says  the  gentleman,  it  is  our  right  in  convention  to  determine 
who  the  people  are,  by  fixing  their  qualifications  ;  and  having 
determined  who  they  are,  you  have  no  power  to  restrict  them. 
Hut  the  electors  are  not  the  people  ;  they  are  only  part  of  the 
great  whole.  True,  we  were  all  of  us  elected  to  this  body  only 
by  the  qualified  voters,  but  we  are  the  representatives  of  all. 
Every  man  who  voted  for  us  was,  in  his  turn,  a  representative 
of  the  people.  The  honorable  gentleman  from  Albany,  (Mr. 
Harris,)  and  the  gentleman  from  Ontario,  (Mr.  Worden,)  had 
told  them  that  the  people  in  convention  assembled  have  no 
right  to  restrict  any  but  delegated  power.  Why,  the  power  of 
the  electors  is  a  delegated  power  by  necessity  of  the  social 
compact.  This  convention  was  elected  by  450,000  men  from 
amongst  millions.  Of  these  450,000  exercising  their  right, 


1846.]  SPEECH  OF  MR.   PORTER.  615 

200,000  may  be  a  plurality,  and  200,000  then  should  possess 
unlimited  power,  without  restriction,  and  exercise  absolute  do- 
minion over  2,500,000  citizens.  They  had  a  bill  of  rights,  and 
did  that  apply  to  the  electors  ?  No  ;  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  your  dominions  is  under  the  protection  of  that  bill 
of  rights.  They  are  the  people,  and  we  are  their  representa- 
tives. Each  voter  who  voted  for  each  of  us,  represented  him- 
self and  five  unqualified  citizens.  Is  this  no  delegated  power  ? 
Why,  we  have  a  female  population  of  1,293,000  in  the  state 
of  New  York — three  times  the  whole  electoral  body ;  and 
their  interest  in  this  government  is  nearer  and  dearer  than  ours, 
for  we  are  clothed  with  a  mighty  power  through  the  ballot- 
box — we  have  strong  arms  to  resist  unto  blood.  But  if  the 
laws  prove  dangerous  to  liberty,  the  female  population  is  use- 
less, powerless,  defenceless.  Again,  there  are  more  under 
than  over  the  age  of  21,  and  they,  too,  have  deeper  interest 
than  we  have  in  the  constitution  we  are  about  to  frame.  They 
are  to  answer  us  and  the  electors  who  send  us  here  ;  if  we  sow 
the  wind  they  are  to  reap  the  whirlwind.  Now,  we  are  con- 
stitutionally legislating  for  advancing  millions — we  are  legisla- 
ting for  generations  yet  to  come.  It  was  not  a  mere  party 
that  nominated  us.  The  voters  elected  us,  but  we  represent 
the  whole  people  of  the  state  of  New  York — each  sex,  age, 
and  condition,  ay,  and  the  succeeding  millions  whose  constitu- 
tional rights  we  are  now  asserting,  and  around  whom  in  ad- 
vance we  throw  constitutional  barriers  for  the  security  of  their 
liberties.  The  magna  charta  that  was  extorted  at  Runnymede 
by  Norman  barons,  was  not  for  themselves  alone,  but  for, 
every  citizen  since  born,  and  for  every  colony  planted  in  the 
wilderness  by  their  descendants,  where  it  has  burst  in  its 
growth  through  all  colonial  vassalage.  Even  our  Declaration 
of  Independence  contains  those  doctrines  of  human  rights 
which  were  first  conceded,  in  the  spirit  of  liberty,  by  magna 
charta.  When,  therefore,  we  enter  into  an  elementary  discus- 
sion, let  us  lay  aside  the  spirit  of  the  demagogue,  and  invoke 
a  better  spirit  of  patriotism,  manly  independence,  and  devotion 
to  the  great  ?.nd  permanent  interest  of  the  people." 


616  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [' 

Mr.  Porter  concluded  his  long  and  able  speech  in 
these  words : 

"  Let  those  gentlemen  who  mounted  the  dappled  hobby  to 
run  the  race  of  popularity,  take  care  lest  they  receive  a  fall. 
Let  that  man  who  is  willing  to  overthrow  the  safeguards  of 
popular  liberty,  great  or  small,  beware  lest  he  receive  the  pop- 
ular condemnation.  That  man,  whoever  he  may  be,  will  find 
little  favor  with  the  electors  of  New  York,  when,  in  their  name 
or  otherwise,  he  is  willing  to  destroy  one  of  the  barriers  against 
partisan  violence,  to  overthrow  or  strike  down  one  of  the  safe- 
guards of  popular  rights." 

The  debate  on  this  single  question  occupied  nearly. 
the  whole  of  twelve  days,  and  the  amendment  was  final- 
ly lost,  and  the  section,  as  originally  reported,  retained, 
after  striking  out  the  word  "  native,"  by  a  vote  of  56  to 
41.  In  convention,  the  report  of  the  committee  of  the 
whole  on  this  section  was  sustained,  61  to  49. 

The  public  felt  very  little  interest  in  this  question. 
No  one  apprehended  any  serious  danger  if  the  restric- 
tion on  the  eligibility  to  the  gubernatorial  office  should 
be  entirely  removed,  because  no  person  could  seriously 
apprehend  that  a  man  who  was  under  thirty  years  old, 
or  who  had  not  resided  in  the  state  for  five  years,  would 
in  the  course  of  centuries  be  presented  as  a  candidate 
for  governor.  The  people,  therefore,  thought  the  re- 
striction would  in  practice  be  found  useless,  though  they 
had  no  objection  that  it  should  be  retained  in  the  con- 
stitution. But  the  friends  of  constitutional  reform,  when 
they  saw  so  much  time  spent  in  discussing  a  question 
comparatively  of  so  little  importance,  did  apprehend, 
with  painful  anxiety,  that  the  time  to  which  the  session 
of  the  convention  would  be  necessarily  limited,  would 
be  consumed  and  wasted  without  the  accomplishment  of 
the  great  objects  which  brought  into  existence  the  con- 


1840.]  THE  VETO  POWER.  617 

vention  itself.  Reflecting  men,  however,  considered, 
that  when  so  many  talented  men,  most  of  whom  are 
strangers  to  each  other,  meet  together  for  the  purpose 
of  deliberating  and  deciding  upon  the  principles  of  gov- 
ernment which  ought  to  be  adopted,  a  rage  for  speak- 
ing, a  sort  of  cacoethes  loquendi,  will  prevail,  and  that 
some  measure  must  be  taken  to  let  off  the  superabun- 
dant gas.  This  debate  had  that  effect. 

The  next  subject  of  much  importance  which  engaged 
the  attention  of  the  convention  was  the  consideration 
of  the  14th  section,  reported  by  the  committee.  That 
section  provided,  that  if  the  governor  should  not  approve 
of  a  bill  passed  by  both  houses  of  the  legislature,  he 
should  return  the  same  with  his  objections  ;  and  unless 
upon  reconsideration  it  should  be  passed  by  two-thirds  of 
the  members  present,  it  should  not  become  a  law.  This 
brought  under  the  review  of  the  convention  the  great 
question  of  the  propriety  of  vesting  the  executive  with 
what  is  called  the  veto  power.  The  question  was 
brought  before  the  house  by  the  following  amendment, 
offered  by  Mr.  Rhoades  : 

"  Strike  out  all  after  the  word  it,  at  the  end  of  the  first  sen- 
tence, and  insert  as  follows  : — '  If,  after  such  reconsideration, 
a  majority  of  all  the  members  elected  shall  agree  to  pass  the 
bill,  it  shall  be  sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other 
house,  by  which  it  shall  likewise  be  reconsidered,  and  if  ap- 
proved by  a  majority  of  all  the  members  elected,  it  shall  be- 
come a  law,  notwithstanding  the  objections  of  the  governor. 
But  in  all  such  cases,  the  votes  of  both  houses  shall  be  determined 
by  yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  those  voting  for  and  against 
the  bill  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.'  " 

This  was  supported  by  the  mover,  Patterson,  Penni- 
man,  O'Conor,  and  several  others.  Among  the  members 
who  delivered  speeches  in  favor  of  this  amendment  was 


018  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

W.  B.  Wright,  of  Sullivan  county,  now  a  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  who  made  an  able,  learned,  and  elabo- 
rate argument  on  the  question.  It  was  resisted  by  W. 
Taylor,  Loomis,  Brown,  Stetson,  and  Stow,  and  others, 
who  sustained,  with  great  ability,  the  propriety  of  vest- 
ing in  the  governor  the  veto  power. 

In  the  committee  of  the  whole  the  amendment  of  Mr. 
Rhoades  was  adopted  ;  but  when  the  report  came  into 
the  house,  upon  calling  the  ayes  and  noes,  the  two-third 
clause  was  sustained  by  the  strong  vote  of  61  to  36. 

While  the  report  of  the  committee  on  the  executive 
department  was  under  consideration,  Mr.  Mann,  from 
New  York,  proposed  a  resolution  that  the  vote  of  a  ma- 
jority of  all  the  members  elected  should  be  necessary  in 
order  to  pass  any  bill  into  a  law.  This  very  judicious 
resolution  was  adopted,  and  is  now  a  part  of  the  consti- 
tution. 

The  article  on  the  subject  of  the  executive  depart- 
ment was  finally  completed  by  the  convention  on  the 
20th  day  of  July. 

On  the  next  day  the  convention  went  into  committee 
of  the  whole,  on  the  report  of  the  committee  (called  No. 
1)  on  the  legislative  department.  The  first  question 
considered  was,  Of  what  number  should  the  senate  con- 
sist ?  The  select  committee  had  reported  in  favor  of 
the  number  fixed  in  1800,  and  retained  in  the  constitu- 
tion of  1821,  which  was  32.  Mr.  Worden  proposed  to 
increase  the  number  to  50.  This  proposition  called  out 
an  able  and  interesting  debate  ;  but  the  convention,  af- 
ter rejecting  propositions  that  the  number  of  senators 
should  be  48,  42,  40,  39,  and  36,  adopted,  by  a  decided 
majority,  the  old  number  of  32. 

The  convention  next  had   under   consideration    the 


1846.]  ELECTION  BY  SINGLE  DISTRICTS.  619 

terra  for  which  a  senator  should  hold  his  office.  Four, 
three,  and  two  years  were  proposed,  but  the  period  of 
two  years  was  preferred  by  the  strong  vote  of  80  to  23. 
After  this  matter  was  disposed  of,  the  question  whether 
the  senators  should  be  elected  from  single  districts,  or 
whether  two  or  more  senators  should  be  chosen  from 
one  district,  was  considered,  which  finally  resolved  it- 
self into  the  question  whether  the  state  should  be  divi- 
ded into  16  or  32  districts.  Mr.  Morris,  of  New  York, 
made  a  speech  of  considerable  length  and  great  pungen- 
cy, in  favor  of  electing  both  the  members  of  the  senate 
and  assembly  from  single  districts,  inasmuch  as  the  sin- 
gle district  system  brought  the  elector  and  candidate 
nearer  together,  and  in  most  cases  would  enable  the 
former  to  judge,  from  his  own  personal  knowledge,  of 
the  qualifications  and  merits  of  the  latter.  It  would  al- 
so, he  contended,  prevent  sinister  combinations  for  the 
nomination  and  election  of  a  batch  of  candidates,  to  ac- 
complish objects  of  which  the  real  constituency  were 
entirely  ignorant.  Morris,  as  reported  by  Messrs.  S. 
Croswell  and  Sutton,  said — 

"  He  knew  a  young  man  being  sent  here  from  New  York, 
whom  they  supposed  there,  when  they  were  voting  for  him, 
that  they  were  voting  either  for  his  uncle  or  his  grandfather. 
They  never  discovered  their  mistake  until  the  delegation  got 
together,  when  they  found  they  had  elected  a  very  clever  boy 
of  21,  instead  of  a  man  of  experience." 

"  Mr.  Richmond  :  The  mistake  was  not  discovered  until  he 
came  here  to  be  sworn.  I  was  here  then." 

"  Mr.  Morris  continued  :  '  When  a  number  of  members  were 
to  be  elected  by  the  same  constituency,  these  members  must 
of  necessity  almost  be  unknown  to  the  constituency ;  and  they 
were  selected  for  the  purpose  of  performing  other  services  than 
mere  legislative  duty.  The  time  came  round,  for  instance, 


620  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [l84(>. 

•when  a  flour  inspector,  or  a  beef  inspector,  or  a  tobacco  in- 
spector was  to  be  appointed.  One  wanted  a  judge,  another, 
notary  public,  another,  master  in  chancery,  another,  commis- 
sioner of  deeds,  and  so  on  ;  and  they  clubbed  together,  each 
man  picked  out  his  own  friend,  and,  by  a  combination  for 
office,  and  office  alone,  they  packed  your  committees,  control- 
led your  conventions,  made  your  nominations,  mid  elected  your 
delegates.  It  was  this  conduct  which,  so  far  as  regarded  New 
York,  made  them  cry  aloud  for  a  convention  ;  and  when  they 
called,  they  called  also  for  single  districts,  and  they  sent  us  nil 
here  instructed.' " 

The  convention  finally  resolved,  by  a  vote  of  79  to 
31,  that  the  senators  should  be  elected  from  single  dis- 
tricts. 

The  seventh  section  of  the  report  of  committee  No.  1 
was  now  taken  up,  which  directed  that  the  members  of 
the  assembly  should  also  be  chosen  by  single  districts. 
This  mode  of  electing  the  assembly  was  opposed  by 
Chatfield  and  others,  but  a  very  considerable  majority 
was  found  to  be  in  favor  it. 

The  section,  as  reported,  directed  that  the  legislature, 
at  their  next  annual  session,  should  divide  the  state  into 
assembly  districts.  Cook,  of  Saratoga,  proposed  that 
the  districts  in  counties  entitled  to  more  than  one  mem- 
ber, should  be  formed  by  the  board  of  supervisors  of  the 
respective  counties.  This  alteration  was  opposed  by 
Swackhamer,  Perkins,  and  Chatfield.  Chatfield,  in  a 
brief  speech  of  some  warmth,  alluded  to  party  interests 
and  party  feeling.  This  was  the  first  allusion  to  party 
considerations  which  had  been  made  from  any  quarter, 
but  the  appeal  was  unsuccessful.  Cook's  amendment 
was  carried  by  a  majority  of  more  than  two  to  one. 

The  tenth  section  of  this  article,  which  next  came  up 
for  consideration,  was  in  these  words  : 


1846.]  REPORT  ON  THE  JUDICIARY.  621 

"§^10.  No  member  of  the  legislature  shall  receive  any  civil 
appointment  within  this  state,  or  to  the  senate  of  the  United 
States,  from  the  governor,  the  governor  and  senate,  or  from 
the  legislature,  during  the  term  for  which  he  shall  have  been 
elected." 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Simmons,  to  strike  out  the  words, 
•'  or  to  the  senate  of  the  United  States,"  a  very  interest- 
ing debate  took  place  in  relation  to  the  power  of  the 
state  to  qualify  or  restrict  the  choice  of  senators  of  the 
United  States,  as  being  inconsistent  with  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  latter  government,  which  elicited  much  pro- 
found thinking  and  learning.  Simmons,  Stow,  Marvin, 
O'Conor,  and  Taggart,  supported  this  amendment ;  and 
Stetson,  Ruggles,  Angel,  Worden,  and  Jones,  opposed 
it,  as  did  also  Gen.  Tallmadge.  Judge  Ruggles'  speech 
on  this  question  is  especially  worthy  of  attention.  The 
amendment  of  Mr.  Simmons  was,  however,  rejected  by 
a  large  majority. 

The  report  from  the  judiciary  committee  had  been 
looked  for  with  deep  anxiety  by  the  public  at  large  as 
well  as  the  convention.  The  inconveniences  and  de- 
lays in  the  administration  of  justice  under  the  system 
adopted  by  the  convention  of  1821,  had  become  nearly 
intolerable.  All  felt  the  need,  and  indeed  we  may  say, 
the  absolute  necessity  of  great  and  radical  alterations 
in  the  judicial  department  of  the  government,  but  as  to 
what  those  alterations  should  be,  and  what  should  be  the 
details  of  the  new  scheme,  intelligent  men  differed  wide- 
ly. Almost  every  lawyer  had  formed  his  own  plan  of 
judiciary  reform,  which  in  some  of  its  features  differed 
from  all  others.  Each  of  course  had  become  attached 
to  his  own  peculiar  system.  Hence  after  repeated  trials, 
from  year  to  year  no'one  system  could  be  devised  which 


622  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

could  command  even  a  constitutional  majority  of  votes 
in  the  house  of  assembly.  These  unsuccessful  efforts, 
and  the  desire  of  many  to  incorporate  into  the  organic 
law  the  substance  of  the  financial  system  adopted  by 
the  statute  of  1842,  were  the  principal  causes  which  in- 
duced the  legislature  and  the  people  to  create  a  conven- 
tion with  unrestricted  powers. 

The  selection  by  the  president  of  the  members  to 
compose  the  judiciary  committee,  furnished  a  strong  evi- 
dence of  his  wisdom  and  discretion.  It  was  impossible 
to  have  chosen  from  that  convention,  or  indeed  any  other 
deliberative  body,  thirteen  men  more  competent  to  ar- 
rive at  a  result,  beneficial  and  satisfactory  to  the  public, 
than  those  chosen  by  Mr.  Tracy  on  this  occasion. 
O'Conor,  Kirkland,  Brown,  Jordan,  Worden,  and  Sim- 
mons, were  learned  lawyers  of  great  eminence  ;  Stet- 
son had  sustained  a  high  reputation  as  a  member  of 
congress  ;  Loomis  was  well  known  to  the  community 
as  an  able  legislator,  and  as  a  man  well  versed  in 
the  theory  of  government,  possessing  a  bold,  enterpri- 
sing, and  acute  mind ;  Bascom,  from  Seneca,  a  man 
of  acknowledged  talents,  had  been  an  early  and  able 
advocate  for  radical  judicial  reform,  by  the  publication 
of  a  monthly  periodical  called  "  The  Memorial,"  and 
by  oral  lectures  and  addresses  delivered  by  him  in  va- 
rious places ;  Patterson,  in  the  course  of  this  work,  has 
frequently  been  mentioned  as  a  man  of  uncommon  in- 
tellectual power,  and  an  able,  clear-sighted,  and  patri- 
otic legislator ;  Mr.  Hart,  a  merchant  of  Oswego,  and 
Mr.  Sears,  a  farmer  of  Tornpkins,  were  both  of  them  re- 
spectable in  their  respective  avocations,  and  estimable 
as  citizens.  The  selection  of  the  chairman  was  equally 
judicious  and  fortunate.  We  do  not  mean  to  write  a 


1840.]  REPORT  OF  MR.  RUGGLES.  623 

eulogy  on  Judge  Ruggles.  To  say  that  during  his  long 
service  in  the  judiciary  department,  he  had  afforded  evi- 
dence of  rigid  impartiality,  strict  integrity,  and  great 
legal  learning  and  talent,  would  be  saying  no  more  than 
what  is  universally  known  and  acknowledged.  But  Mr. 
Ruggles  possessed  some  other  qualities,  which  fitted  him 
in  a  peculiar  manner  for  the  position  the  president  had 
assigned  him.  Few  men  ever  lived  who  excelled  him 
in  prudence  and  caution.  We  may  add,  too,  that  his 
nice  regard  for  the  feelings  of  others,  and  his  extreme 
modesty,  extinguished  all  envy  and  jealousy  among  his 
fellow-members. 

On  the  1st  day  of  August,  Judge  Ruggles,  as  chair- 
man of  the  judiciary  committee,  made  a  report.  It  will 
be  unnecessary  to  give  the  details  of  this  important  doc- 
ument, because  it  was  substantially  adopted  by  the  con- 
vention, and  now  constitutes  the  sixth  article  of  the 
constitution  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Ruggles,  on  making  his  report,  delivered  a  speech 
in  which,  without  any  attempt  at  display  or  ornament, 
he  pointed  out  with  great  perspicuity  the  defects  of  the 
then  existing  judiciary  establishment,  and  the  general 
principles  contained  in  his  report,  together  with  the 
grounds  on  which  it  was  hoped  that  the  plan  he  pro- 
posed, would,  if  approved  by  the  convention  and  the 
people,  provide  adequate  means  for  removing  those  de- 
fects. 

One  great  question  which  had  been  agitated  by  law- 
yers, and  considered  by  the  committee,  was,  whether 
legal  and  equitable  jurisdiction  could,  consistent  with 
the  correct  administration  of  justice,  be  conferred  on  the 
same  tribunal.  On  this  subject  Mr.  Ruggles  said — 

"  In  regard  to  this  union  of  the  two  courts  there  has  been 


624  POUTICAI,  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

a  difference  of  opinion  among  the  members  of  the  committee. 
On  the  one  hand  it  has  been  urged,  with  great  force,  that  the 
perfection  of  skill,  in  learning  as  in  the  arts,  is  best  attained 
by  the  division  of  labor ;  and  that  in  the  vast  field  of  juris- 
prudence it  would  be  better  to  class  the  laborers  into  separate 
departments,  so  that  the  skill  and  learning  of  each  might  be 
limited  and  directed  to  that  one  particular  branch  of  duty 
for  which  he  might  be  most  eminently  qualified.  On  the  other 
hand,  that  system  is  supposed  by  some  to  be  attended  with 
the  inconvenience  of  having  too  many  tribunals.  By  others 
it  is  believed  that  by  uniting  the  two  tribunals  in  one,  the 
modes  of  procedure  at  law  and  in  equity,  which  now  differ 
widely,  may  immediately  by  legal  enactment,  or  more  gradu- 
ally by  the  action  and  practice  of  the  court,  be  assimilated  and 
finally  blended,  thus  obliterating  and  abolishing  the  distinction 
between  law  and  equity  as  heretofore  recognised.  Without 
coming  to  this  conclusion,  several  of  the  committee,  who  were 
inclined  to  favor  the  continuance  of  separate  courts,  have  re- 
garded it  as  a  question  not  of  vital  importance  ;  and  they  have 
yielded  their  original  preference  for  separate  courts  in  favor  of 
what  they  deem  the  greater  advantages  of  the  plan  reported. 
The  union  of  the  two  jurisdictions  in  the  same  court  is  not  an 
untried  experiment.  It  has  the  sanction  of  a  number  of  the 
states  ;  and,  in  part,  of  the  judicial  system  of  the  United  States. 
One  of  its  advantages,  in  connection  with  the  plan  of  the  com- 
mittee, arises  from  the  greater  facility  and  convenience  with 
which  the  equity  causes  involving  questions  of  fact,  may  be 
tried  before  a  jury  at  the  circuit  in  the  county  where  the  par- 
ties reside,  and  without  the  formality  and  expense  of  a  separ- 
ate court.  One  of  the  changes  recommended  by  the  committee, 
and  which  they  all  regard  as  highly  important  and  useful,  re- 
lates to  the  taking  of  testimony  in  equity  causes.  Heretofore 
it  has  been  taken  by  deposition  before  an  examiner  in  chance- 
ry, and  not  in  open  court.  The  examiner  not  being  authorized 
to  reject  any  testimony  which  either  party  proposes  to  take, 
the  depositions  are  usually  encumbered  with  a  vast  mass  of 
matter  immaterial  to  the  questions  in  controversy.  A  great 


1846.]  SPEECH  OF  MR.  RUGGLE8.  625 

proportion  of  the  delay  and  expense  of  litigation  in  chancery 
arises  from  this  cause.  The  committee  recommend  a  provi- 
sion directing  the  evidence  to  be  taken  before  the  judge  on 
the  trial,  as  in  cases  of  common  law.  Although  this  is  a  matter 
within  the  power  of  the  legislature,  it  has  long  been  the  sub- 
ject of  complaint,  and  the  evil  has  remained  without  correction. 
The  committee  consider  it  so  essential  in  the  way  of  reform, 
and  so  material  in  relation  to  the  operation  of  the  system  re- 
ported, that  they  deem  it  worthy  of  constitutional  enactment. 
The  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  as  proposed  by  the  com- 
mittee, are  to  be  charged  with  the  entire  judicial  business — 
legal  and  equitable,  civil  and  criminal — which  has  heretofore 
been  done  by  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Court  of  Chancery,  and 
the  county  courts.  The  weight  and  burden  of  the  business  is 
considerably  increased  by  the  duty  charged  upon  the  judges 
of  taking  the  testimony  in  equity  cases  in  open  court  at  the 
circuit.  For  these  varied  and  extensive  duties  the  number  of 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  must  be  large.  The  committee 
propose  eight  districts,  and  four  judges  in  each  district — thir- 
ty-two in  the  whole — of  which  number,  however,  four  are  to 
be  judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  leaving  twenty-eight  judges 
for  the  actual  business  of  the  Supreme  Court.  These  judges 
are  to  hold  as  many  general  and  special  terms  in  each  dis- 
trict, and  as  many  Circuit  Courts  and  courts  of  Oyer  and  Ter- 
miner  in  each  county,  as  may  be  necessary.  By  the  system 
thus  proposed,  the  committee  have  endeavored  to  provide  a 
remedy  for  the  deficiencies  of  the  present  organization  : — 

"  1st.  By  adapting  the  number  of  active  judicial  officers  to 
the  altered  circumstances  of  the  state,  and  to  the  quantity  of 
work  to  be  done. 

"  2d.  By  reducing  the  number  of  judges  of  the  appellate 
court  for  its  greater  convenience  and  efficiency  in  the  dispatch 
of  business. 

"  3d.  By  separating  that  court  from  its  connection  with  the 
legislative  branch  of  the  government. 

"  4th.  By  the  reduction  of  the  number  of  appeals  in  civil 
cases,  consequent  on  the  establishment  of  a  single  court. 
40 


ti26  POLITICAL  IH3TOKY   OK   \KW  YORK.  [1846. 

"  5th.  By  diminishing  the  delay  and  expense  of  litigation 
in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  in  the  mode  of  taking  evidence,  and 
by  providing  a  number  of  judges  sufficient  to  dispatch  the  bu- 
siness of  that  court. 

"  6th.  By  establishing  a  branch  of  the  court  in  each  of  the 
eight  districts,  so  that  the  business  may  be  done  where  it  arises, 
without  journeying  to  distant  parts  of  the  state  for  the  hear- 
ing of  causes. 

"  7th.  By  abolishing  the  system  of  circuit  judges,  and  re- 
quiring their  duty  to  be  done  by  the  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court. 

"  8th.  By  an  inflexible  rule  that  all  judicial  officers,  above 
the  grade  of  justices  of  the  peace,  shall  be  compensated  by 
fixed  salaries,  and  shall  not  receive  fees  or  perquisites  of  office." 

When  Mr.  Ruggles  concluded  his  remarks,  Mr. 
O'Conor  produced  a  minority  report,  in  which  he  offer- 
ed a  substitute  for  the  article  reported  by  the  majority 
of  the  committee.  Mr.  O'C.  objected  to  the  plan  pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Ruggles — 

1.  Because  in  his  opinion  the  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  ought  not  to  be  elected  by  the  people,  but  should 
be  appointed  by  the  senate  and  assembly. 

2.  Because  by  the  plan  of  Mr.  Ruggles,  it  was  pro- 
posed to  abolish  the  county  courts. 

3.  Because  he  wished  to  preserve  the  unity  of  the 
Supreme  Court ;  and  the  report  of  the  majority  of  the 
committee  recommended  the  creation  of  eight  separate 
tribunals,  each  of  which  was  to  exercise  the  authority 
and  the  functions  of  a  Supreme  Court. 

These  and  other  objections  against  the  majority  re- 
port were  urged  by  Mr.  O'Conor  with  great  skill  and 
ability. 

The  report  and  speech  of  Mr.  O'Conor  were  followed 
by  the  presentation  by  Mr.  Kirkland  of  another  minority 


1846.]  REPORTS  ON  THE  JUDICIARY.  627 

report.  His  scheme,  like  the  others,  proposed  to  abolish 
the  existing  Court  for  the  Correction  of  Errors,  and  sub- 
stitute a  court  of  appeals,  to  consist  of  seven  judges, 
three  of  whom  should  be  elected  by  the  people,  and  the 
remaining  four  be  appointed  by  the  governor,  with  the 
consent  of  the  senate. 

2.  That  the  state  should  be  divided  into  six  districts,  of 
which  the  city  of  New  York  should  be  one  ;  that  in  each 
district  there  should  be  a  superior  court,  to  consist,  in 
New  York,  of  six  judges,  and   in  the  other  districts,  of 
four ;  two  of  the  judges  in  each  district  to  be  elected  by 
the  people,  and  the  remaining  judges  to  be  appointed  by 
the  senate  and  assembly,  by  ballot.     The  judges  to  hold 
their  offices  for  ten  years. 

3.  Mr.  Kirkland  proposed  to  establish  county  courts 
in  each  county,  to  be  composed  of  a  first  judge,  who 
was  to  be  ex  officio  surrogate,  and  an  associate  judge  : 
both  to  be  elected  by  the  qualified  electors.     In  each  of 
the  judicial  districts  he  proposed  there  should  be  a  cir- 
cuit judge,  (and  in  the  city  of  New  York  four.)     These 
judges  were  to  be  judges  of  the  county  court,  and  should 
singly  hold  courts  for  the  trial  of  civil  causes.     In  crim- 
inal cases  the  two  county  judges  were  to  be  associated 
with  him.     An  appeal  was  to  lie  from  the  county  court 
to  the  superior  court  of  the  district.     Mr.  K.  proposed 
to  confer  on  all  these  courts  equitable  as  well  as  legal 
powers. 

Notwithstanding  these  projets  were  before  the  con- 
vention, Mr.  Bascom  presented  a  fourth  minority  re- 
port. He  said,  that  "  however  much  he  regretted  the 
necessity  of  increasing  the  number  of  the  reports  from 
the  judiciary  committee,  he  would  detain  the  convention 
with  no  other  apology"  than  to  say,  that  a  sense  of  duty 


628  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

impelled  him  to  submit  another  minority  report.  He 
objected  particularly  to  that  part  of  the  report  that 
r.ought  to  perpetuate  exclusive  chancery  jurisdiction 
during  the  continuance  of  the  constitution.  Hereto- 
fore this  jurisdiction  had  been  created  and  continued  by 
law,  and  would  be  by  law  limited  or  destroyed.  He 
objected,  too,  to  the  mode  proposed  for  the  appointment 
of  the  judges.  He  objected  also  that  the  proposition  of 
the  committee  does  not  distribute  the  sessions  of  the 
court  sufficiently  throughout  the  state,  and  that  the  plan 
only  provides  for  a  session  of  the  court  in  each  of  the 
eight  districts.  He  desired  that  bank  sessions  should  be 
held  in  all  or  nearly  all  the  counties  in  the  state.  He 
objected  also  to  the  power  proposed  to  be  given  to  the 
legislature,  not  only  to  increase  the  judges  of  the  pro- 
posed courts,  but  to  create  and  multiply  inferior  courts 
without  limitation !" 

Mr.  Bascom  proposed — 

1.  That  the  court  for  the  trial  of  impeachments  should 
consist  of  the  senators  and  the  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  or  the  major  part  of  them,  whose  term  of  office 
should  be  within  two  years,  but  not  within  one  year  of 
its  expiration. 

"§  3.  All  other  judicial  power  shall  be  vested  in  justices' 
courts,  a  supreme  court,  and  in  surrogates. 

"  §  4.  Justices  of  the  peace  shall  be  chosen  by  the  electors 
in  such  districts,  in  such  numbers  and  for  such  periods  of 
time,  and  their  powers,  jurisdiction,  and  duties  shall  be  such 
as  are,  or  may  be,  prescribed  by  law. 

"  The  supreme  court  shall  have  such  powers  and  jurisdic- 
tion as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law. 

"There  shall  be  thirty-two  judges  thereof,  one  of  which 
shall  be  elected  by  the  electors  of  each  of  the  senate  districts, 
at  a  special  election,  at  which  no  other  officer  shall  be  chosen , 


1846.]  REPORTS  ON  THE  JUDICIARY.  629 

"  The  said  judges  shall  hold  their  office  for  four  years,  ex- 
cept a  part  of  those  first  to  be  chosen.  Vacancies  shall  be 
filled  at  special  elections  to  be  ordered  by  the  governor,  and 
judges  chosen  to  fill  vacancies  shall  hold  only  for  the  unex- 
pired  term. 

"§  6.  Four  of  the  senate  districts  shall  compose  a  judicial 
district,  and  the  judges  first  to  be  chosen  in  u  judicial  district 
shall,  at  a  time  and  place  to  be  designated  by  the  governor, 
meet  and  draw  for  terms,  of  one,  two,  three,  and  four  years. 
The  term  of  the  judges  chosen  in  the  different  judicial  dis- 
tricts, shall  commence  in  different  months  of  the  year. 

"  §  7.  There  shall  be  a  circuit  session  by  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  supreme  court  in  each  of  the  counties  of  the  judicial 
district,  as  often  as  the  judges  thereof  shall  deem  proper,  for 
the  trial  by  jury  of  all  issues  that  may  be  joined  in  civil  and 
criminal  causes,  and  for  the  rendering  of  final  judgments  in 
criminal  causes.  For  the  trial  and  decision  of  criminal  causes 
there  shall  be  associated  with  the  judge,  the  surrogate  and 
one  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  county,  or,  in  the  absence  of 
the  surrogate,  two  justices  of  the  peace. 

"  §  8.  There  shall  be  bank  sessions  of  not  less  than  three  nor 
more  than  four  judges  of  the  supreme  court  in  the  several 
counties  of  the  judicial  districts,  at  such  times  and  places  as 
to  the  judges  thereof  shall  seem  proper,  to  review  the  decis- 
ions and  proceedings  of  the  circuit  sessions,  and  to  discharge 
such  other  duties,  in  relation  to  the  administration  of  justice 
and  the  establishment  of  rights,  as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law. 

"§  9.  There  shall  be  appeal  sessions  composed  of  the 
judges  whose  term  of  office  shall  be  within  one  year  of  its  ter- 
mination, in  the  several  judicial  districts  of  the  state,  at  sucb 
times  and  places  as  shall  be  appointed  by  the  said  judges, 
unless  said  times  and  places  shall  be  fixed  by  law,  at  which 
the  decisions  of  the  sessions  in  bank  may  be  reviewed,  and 
such  other  judicial  powers  exercised  as  shall  be  prescribed  by 
law. 

"  §  10.  Surrogates  of  counties  shall  be  chosen  by  the  electors 
thereof,  and  shall  hold  their  offices  for  four  years. 


630  POLITICAL  HlaTOKY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

"Their  powers  and  jurisdiction  over  the  estates  of  deems,-,! 
persons  and  other  matters,  shall  be  such  as  are  or  may  be 
prescribed  by  law. 

"The  legislature  may  provide  that  issues  joined  in  any 
proceedings  before  surrogates  may  be  tried  at  the  circuit  ses- 
sions, and  that  any  of  the  proceedings  of  surrogates  may  be 
reviewed  by  the  supreme  court. 

"  §  11.  The  clerks  of  the  several  counties  of  this  state  shall 
be  clerks  of  the  supreme  court,  with  such  powers  and  duties 
as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law. 

"§12.  A  clerk  of  the  appeal  sessions  shall  be  appointed 
by  the  judges  thereof,  who  shall  hold  his  office  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  said  judges,  and  shall  receive  such  compensa- 
tion as  shall  be  prescribed  by  law. 

"§  13.  The  judges  of  the  supreme  court  shall  receive  no 
fees  or  perquisites  of  office,  other  than  a  fixed  salary ;  and 
any  alteration  thereof  shall  only  affect  those  to  be  thereafter 
chosen ;  but  an  allowance  for  travelling  expenses,  in  addition 
to  a  fixed  salary,  may  be  made  to  a  judge  required  to  dis- 
charge judicial  duties  without  his  judicial  district." 

Mr.  Simmons  said  he  should  not  offer  a  minority  re- 
port, although  there  were  some  things  in  the  report  of 
the  majority  to  which  he  could  not  yield  his  assent. 
He  said  he  must  however  frankly  "  confess  that  the 
very  beautiful  speech  of  the  chairman  (Mr.  Ruggles) 
had  made  it  appear  better  to  him  than  it  did  last  even- 
ing." 

The  points  on  which  Mr.  S.  differed  from  the  com- 
mittee, were — 

1.  He  was  opposed  to  the  election  of  judges  by  the 
people,  unless  the  term  of  holding  office  could  be  ex- 
tended. 

2.  He  was  in  favor  of  32  judges,  but  desired  a  differ- 
ent organization  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

3.  He  was  opposed  to  blending  law  and  equity,  and 


1846.]  MR.  BROWN'S  OPINION.  631 

vesting  the  powers  of  both  in  the  same  tribunal.  "  He 
could  not  think  it  would  be  wise  in  us,  in  opposition  to 
the  declared  opinions  of  every  judge  he  had  read  of — 
from  Lord  Bacon  down  to  Chancellor  Kent  and  Judge 
Story — to  amalgamate  these  two  jurisdictions.  He 
thought  it.  highly  dangerous  to  convert  this  standing  ar- 
my of  judges  into  so  many  chancellors,  with  all  the  ar- 
bitrary po  \  er  of  that  court." 

Mr.  Loomis  said  he  concurred  cordially  in  the  main 
principles  and  leading  features  of  the  report,  but  he  dis- 
approved of  the  abolition  of  the  county  court ;  and  he 
read  three  sections,  which  he  said  he  should  offer  as  an 
amendment.  The  material  parts  of  these  sections  were 
ultimately  adopted  by  the  convention,  and  are  now  a 
part  of  the  constitution.  It  is  therefore  unnecessary,  at 
this  time,  to  state  in  detail  those  sections. 

Mr.  Brown  did  not  concur  with  Mr.  Loomis.  He 
thought  the  courts  held  by  justices  of  the  peace  ought 
to  be  preserved  as  they  then  existed,  and  that  the  courts 
of  common  pleas  ought  to  be  abolished.  The  office  of 
surrogate,  in  his  judgment,  should  be  continued  and 
modified,  so  that  the  surrogate  should  have  a  fixed  sala- 
ry in  lieu  of  perquisites,  and  that  the  proof  of  wills 
should  be  transferred  to  the  Supreme  Court.  The  num- 
ber of  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  including  the  judges 
of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  should  he  forty. 

After  making  these  suggestions,  Mr.  Brown  sustained 
the  leading  principles  of  the  report  in  an  able  and  elo- 
quent speech.  It  ought  to  be  mentioned  that  Mr.  Brown 
expressed  a  wish  "  that  the  terms  of  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals and  the  terms  of  the  Supreme  Court,  should  be 
justly  distributed  among  the  judicial  districts  by  consti- 
tutional provision."  "  It  was  far  easier  and  more  appro- 


G33  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

priate,"  said  Mr.  Brown,  "  for  the  courts  to  follow  the 
people,  than  for  the  people  to  follow  the  courts." 

Mr.  Worden,  some  five  or  six  days  after  this,  presented 
a  fifth  minority  report.  It  contained  eighteen  sections, 
the  substance  of  which  is  stated  in  the  following  brief 
but  lucid  speech  delivered  by  Mr.  Worden  on  that  oc- 


"  Mr.  Worden  briefly  explained  the  provisions  of  his  plan. 
He  proposed  to  abolish  the  Court  for  the  Correction  of  Errors, 
and  to  substitute  in  its  place  a  court,  to  consist  of  a  chief-jus- 
tice and  nine  associate  justices  ;  abolish  the  Court  of  Chancery, 
;ind  to  substitute  a  court  of  equity,  under  the  control  of  the 
legislature,  to  consist  of  not  less  than  five  judges.  In  regard 
to  the  Supreme  Court,  he  proposed  to  make  it  consist  of  no 
less  than  nineteen  judges,  a  chief-justice,  and  twelve  associate 
justices,  who  shall  be  divided  into  four  classes  of  three  each. 
The  first  class,  in  which  shall  be  the  chief-justice,  making  a 
class  of  four  judges,  shall  hold  terms  in  bank  for  two  years  ; 
the  other  nine  justices  to  hold  circuits  and  special  terms  for 
the  hearing  of  non-enumerated  motions,  giving  to  the  legisla- 
ture power  to  convene  any  other  of  the  classes  to  hold  terms 
in  bank  wherever  the  business  shall  require  it.  He  proposed 
to  divide  the  state  into  five  judicial  districts,  of  which  the  city 
and  county  of  New  York  shall  be  one,  and  to  provide  for  the 
holding  of  circuit  courts  in  each  of  the  districts,  for  the  trial  of 
issues,  to  be  held  by  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
The  Courts  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  to  be  held  as  they  now  are. 
The  judicial  districts,  except  that  consisting  of  the  city  and 
county  of  New  York,  to  be  subdivided  so  as  to  make  eight 
districts,  for  each  of  which  there  shall  be  a  presiding  judge ; 
;ind  in  each  county  two  county  judges  to  be  elected,  who, 
with  the  president  judge,  shall  constitute  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas.  He  proposed  so  to  form  the  system  that  the 
equity  courts  shall  be  remodelled,  leaving,  however,  the  diffi- 
cult and  delicate  duty  to  the  legislature  to  adopt  the  reforms 
that  may  become  expedient.  He  proposed  to  abolish  masters 


1846.]  SPEECH  OF  MR.   WORDEN.  633 

and  examiners  in  chancery,  and  to  have  all  testimony  taken 
before  one  of  the  judges  of  the  court  of  equity,  or  the  presi- 
dent judge  of  the  common  pleas,  so  that  the  vast  expense  of 
laking  testimony  may  be  done  away ;  and  leaving  it  to  the 
legislature  to  provide  by  law  for  the  decision  of  cases  in  chan- 
cery before  a  president  judge  of  the  common  pleas,  or  any 
judge  of  that  court.  He  would  have  the  courts  in  the 
city  of  New  York  as  they  now  are,  leaving  to  the  legislature 
power  over  those  courts.  For  the  purpose  of  disposing  of  the 
equity  business  of  the  city  of  New  York,  he  proposed  to  leave 
it  as  it  is,  with  two  officers,  who  shall  have  the  power  which 
he  proposed  to  confer  on  the  presiding  judges  of  the  common 
pleas  in  the  several  districts.  Such  was  briefly  the  plan  he 
submitted.  In  regard  to  the  election  of  judges,  there  were 
already  two  propositions  before  the  convention,  and  he  begged 
leave  to  say  a  word  :  The  judicial  power  of  the  state  was,  in 
its  nature  and  character,  totally  different  from  the  legislative 
and  executive.  Its  variance  was  essential  from  both  of  those 
departments.  While  both  the  legislature  and  the  executive 
should  respond  freely  to  the  public  will,  the  judiciary  was  ap- 
other  branch  of  our  government,  by  which  individual  rights 
were  to  be  determined  and  settled  on  fundamental  principles 
which  cannot,  or  should  not,  change  or  alter,  whether  one 
man  stand  in  opposition  to  the  people,  or  the  people  in  oppo- 
sition to  one  man.  In  that  consists  the  dignity,  efficiency,  and 
purity  of  the  judiciary  system.  It  must  not,  therefore,  be 
made  to  depend  on  the  caprice  or  fluctuation  of  either  public 
or  private  opinion.  He  believed  it  was  possible  to  frame  a 
system  for  an  elective  judiciary  on  a  safer  and  better  plan  than 
that  reported  by  the  majority  of  the  committee,  and  hence  he 
had  not  agreed  to  that  precisely.  He  had  now  only  to  say, 
that  the  pole  star  to  guide  them  was  to  have  the  judiciary  in- 
dependent, as  far  as  possible,  of  the  influence  of  any  exciting 
questions  that  might  arise  in  the  other  departments  of  the 
government,  or  amongst  the  people  at  large,  so  that  individual 
and  public  rights  may  be  settled  on  great  and  fundamental 
principles." 


634  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846 

We  have  been  the  more  particular  in  presenting  to 
the  reader  the  several  projects  of  the  members  of  the 
judiciary  committee,  because  we  think  the  community, 
and  indeed  that  posterity,  ought  to  be  acquainted  with 
the  different  opinions,  formed  after  much  reflection,  of 
these  learned  and  enlightened  men,  on  the  best  means 
of  securing  a  faithful,  expeditious,  and  correct  adminis- 
tration of  justice  in  a  free  and  highly  commercial  com- 
monwealth.* 

Mr.  Chatfield's  report  from  No.  6,  on  the  state  offi- 
cers, was  then  taken  up  by  the  convention,  and  it  was 
adopted  in  nearly  all  its  material  parts.  The  first  sec- 
tion of  the  article,  as  reported,  fixed  the  salary  of  those 
officers.  A  motion  was  made  by  Mr.  Marvin  to  strike 
out  that  part  of  the  section  which  fixed  the  salaries.  A 
long  debate  ensued,  but  his  motion  finally  succeeded, 
73  to  33. 

Mr.  Talmadge's  report  from  No.  11,  on  rights  and 
privileges,  was,  after  the  report  from  No.  6  was  dis- 
posed of,  considered,  and  the  main  features  of  it  adopt- 
ed. While  in  committee  of  the  whole  on  rights  and 
privileges,  Mr.  Danforth,  of  Jefferson  county,  offered  as 
an  amendment,  the  section  from  the  old  constitution 


*  The  time  allowed  to  the  author  for  digesting  the  proceedings  of  the 
convention,  as  reported  by  Messrs.  Croswell  and  Sutton,  has  been  very 
short ;  and  from  the  great  variety  of  projects  presented  by  the  members 
of  the  judiciary  committee,  and  the  number  and  length  of  the  speeches 
delivered,  he  has  reason  to  be  apprehensive  that  he  may  in  some  instances 
have  mistaken,  and,  of  course,  misrepresented  their  views.  He  can  only 
say,  that  if  hereafter  he  shall  be  informed  of  any  errors  in  his  statements 
or  if  he  shall,  upon  a  more  critical  examination,  discover  such  errors, 
they  shall  promptly  be  corrected.  To  do  full  justice  to  the  merits  of  the 
gentlemen  who  took  part  in  this  and  other  discussions,  in  this  brief  sketch 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  convention,  is  quite  out  of  the  question. 

J.  D.  H. 


1846.]  JUDICIAL  EEFOHM.  635 

commonly  known  as  Gov.  Jay's  section,  which  declares 
clergymen  ineligible  to  any  office.  It  will  be  observed 
that  the  committee  No.  1 1  had  (as  we  think  very  prop- 
erly) left  this  section  out  of  their  article.  This  amend- 
ment was  opposed  by  Patterson,  Salsbury,  Taggart,  and 
Young,  and  supported  by  Crooker  and  the  mover. 
The  proposition  met  with  very  little  favor  from  the  con- 
vention. 

On  the  tenth  day  of  August  the  convention  went  into 
committee  of  the  whole  on  the  report  of  the  judiciary 
committee. 

The  majority  report  was  assailed  from  various  quar- 
ters, and  efforts  were  made  to  change  its  features  by 
amendments. 

On  the  llth  of  August,  Mr.  Jordan  made  an  able 
argument  in  favor  of  the  system  proposed  by  the  com- 
mittee, as  being  on  the  whole  most  likely  to  receive  the 
approbation  of  a  majority  of  the  convention,  though 
the  system  did  not  in  all  respects  meet  his  particular 
views.  He  however  urged  the  necessity  of  yielding*in- 
dividual  predilections  as  respected  "  minor  points,  for  the 
general  good." 

He  was  followed  by  Mr.  Kirkland,  who  commenced 
by  exhibiting  in  bold  relief  the  evils  of  the  then  existing 
system,  and  showing  the  absolute  necessity  of  judicial 
reform.  He  then,  with  great  ingenuity  and  ability,  at- 
tempted to  show  the  superiority  of  the  plan  he  had  sub- 
mitted, over  that  proposed  by  the  majority  of  the  com- 
mittee, and  concluded  a  lengthy  and  highly  interesting 
argument  in  a  liberal  and  conciliatory  spirit,  in  these 
words :  "  I  will  .now,  Mr.  Chairman,  close  my  remarks 
by  saying,  that  I  have  no  pride  of  opinion  as  to  the  plan 
I  have  presented.  After  mature  reflection,  I  believe  it 


636  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

one  in  whose  practical  workings  entire  confidence  may 
be  placed.  Whether  rejected  or  adopted  by  the  con- 
vention, my  duty  is  discharged  by  presenting  it." 

Various  other  speeches  were  made  for  and  against 
the  majority  report,  and  on  the  18th  of  August  Mr. 
Simmons  concluded  a  long  and  learned  argument,  which 
had  occupied  several  days,  by  proposing  the  following 
amendment — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  report  of  the  judiciary  committee  be 
so  arranged  that  sixteen  of  the  judges  be  arranged  into  four 
courts  of  general  jurisdiction,  one  of  which  shall  be  a  court  of 
equity ;  each  court  to  hold  terms  in  bank,  at  least  twice 
yearly,  in  each  of  the  four  districts  of  the  state,  to  be  com- 
posed of  eight  senatorial  districts ;  and  the  other  sixteen 
judges  to  compose  four  courts  of  local  jurisdiction  within  a 
judicial  district,  one  of  which  shall  be  a  court  of  equity,  which 
shall  hold  respectively  a  court  two  terms  in  bank  yearly,  in 
each  of  the  said  districts,  and  at  different  times  and  places 
from  the  other  courts :  the  former  courts  to  be  entitled  su- 
preme courts,  the  latter  superior  courts ;  the  judges  of  the 
former  to  be  selected  for  sixteen  years ;  of  the  latter,  for  eight 
years.*  The  legislature  shall  have  power  to  constitute  such 
county,  city,  and  town  courts  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  ; 
and  to  transfer  such  jurisdiction  and  powers  from  the  equity 
to  the  common  law  courts,  and  from  these  to  the  former,  and 
to  prescribe  such  similar  and  common  forms  of  proceeding  and 
of  remedies,  as  may  be  deemed  practicable  and  expedient." 

On  the  next  day  Mr.  Crooker  offered  an  amendment 
to  the  report  of  the  judiciary  committee,  providing  for 
the  election  of  one  county  judge,  and  two  justices  of  the 
peace  who  were  to  be  his  associates  on  the  trial  of  crim- 
inal cases :  the  judge  solely  to  hold  a  county  court  for 
the  trial  of  civil  causes,  to  perform  the  duties  of  the 
office  of  surrogate,  to  have  appellate  jurisdiction  only, 
and  to  be  compensated  by  an  annual  salary.  This 


1846.]  COURT  OF  APPEALS.  637 

amendment  was  finally  adopted,  and  the  substance  of  it 
is  now  a  part  of  the  constitution. 

Mr.  O'Conor  said  he  "  would  preserve  in  all  their 
strength  and  integrity  our  county  courts,  and  elevate 
their  character."  In  allusion  to  the  scheme  just  men- 
tioned and  proposed  by  Mr.  Crooker,  which  had  been 
previously  indicated  by  Mr.  Loomis,  Mr.  O'Conor 
said :  "  The  argument  in  favor  of  county  courts  had 
been  found  so  powerful,  that  the  enemies  of  it  had  been 
induced  to  give  us  one  in  name  but  not  in  substance — • 
a  kind  of  little  county  cormorant  to  eat  up  the  justices' 
courts — a  perambulatory  sort  of  court* — a  kind  of  bull- 
frog, going  about  the  county  to  devour  the  small  frogs. 
It  was  to  be  a  mongrel  court,  neither  the  old  common 
pleas  nor  the  general  sessions,  but  a  mixture  of  both, 
with  some  additions." 

Mr.  Jordan  replied  to  Mr.  O'Conor,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  speech  took  ground  in  favor  of  Mr. 
Crooker's  amendment. 

On  the  25th  day  of  August,  the  consideration  of  the 
report  of  the  judiciary  committee  was  taken  from  the 
committee  of  the  whole.  The  first  question  decided 
was  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Hart,  that  all  the  judges  of 
the  court  of  appeals  should  be  elected  by  the  people. 

Mr.  Chatfield  in  advocating  this  motion  said— - 

"The  court  of  appeals  was  the  court  of  the  people  at 
large,  and  should  be  elected  by  the  people  at  large.  He  was 
willing  as  a  party  man  to  take  his  chance  in  electing  them. 
If  the  party  opposed  to  him  elected  them  all,  he  should  say 
amen  to  it.  If  his  own  party  succeeded  he  should  be  grati- 


*  The  14th  section  of  Mr.  Crooker's  amendment  provided  that  the 
county  judge  might  hold  his  court  at  any  place  in  the  county  which  the 
convenience  of  the  public  might  require. 


638  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

fied.  He  was  not  one  of  those  who  would  throw  every  thing 
valuable  to  his  party  out  of  the  hands  of  that  party.  He 
wished  it  to  be  understood,  that  in  desiring  a  general  ticket 
system,  he  had  an  eye  to  the  men  to  be  elected.  He  had  no 
concealments  on  the  subject.  He  was  not  willing  to  concede 
that  if  the  democratic  party  should  carry  all  these  judges, 
that  therefore  they  would  be  the  worst  men  in  the  state.  He 
put  himself  on  the  open  and  manly  ground  in  this  matter. 
He  avowed  that  in  voting  for  this  amendment,  he  acted  on 
party  considerations,  and  so  did  everybody  else,  disguise  it 
as  they  might." 

Mr.  Harris,  in  reply,  said — 

"  It  was  with  some  regret  that  he  heard  the  remarks  which 
had  just  fallen  from  the  gentleman  from  Otsego,  (Mr.  Chat- 
field.)  Mr.  H.  knew  nothing  which  he  admired  more  than  to 
see  a  body  of  men  like  this,  whose  situation  entitles  them  to 
influence  and  to  take  the  lead  in  public  affairs,  rising  superior 
to  party  influences,  casting  off  party  connections,  forgetting 
party  interests,  and  devoting  themselves  to  the  public  good, 
rendering  party  objects  subservient  to  the  public  welfare. 
He  had,  therefore,  with  some  pride,  seen  the  course  which 
had  hitherto  been  taken  by  this  convention.  From  all  quar- 
ters were  heard  congratulations  that  party  lines  had  been  dis- 
regarded, and  that  party  interests  had  been  forgotten,  in  "our 
deliberations.  It  was  with  pain,  then,  that  he  had  witnessed 
the  attempt  of  the  gentleman  from  Otsego  to  bring  party 
interests  to  bear  upon  the  question." 

Mr.  Hart's  amendment  was  rejected  by  a  vote  of  71 
to  24. 

Mr.  Harris  and  others  took  the  ground  that  all  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  should  be  taken  from  the 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  who  had  the  shortest  term 
to  serve,  but  this  proposition  was  rejected  by  the  con- 
vention by  a  majority  of  more  than  three  to  one. 

Several  other  ineffectual  attempts  were  made  to  amend 
or  alter  the  second  section  of  the  article,  which  was  that 


1846.]  JUSTICES'  COURTS.  639 

relating  to  the  Court  of  Appeals ;  but  it  soon  appeared 
that  a  majority  of  the  convention  were  determined  to 
adopt  it  as  it  came  from  the  judiciary  committee.  On 
the  final  vote  63  were  given  for  and  43  against  it. 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Murphy  it  was  decided  that  the 
judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  should  be  elected  by  single 
senatorial  districts,  60  to  49 ;  but  Mr.  Brown  immedi- 
ately moved  to  reconsider  that  vote,  when  the  subject 
was  fully  canvassed,  and  Mr.  Brown's  motion  succeed- 
ed by  a  majority  of  eight. 

During  these  discussions  upon  the  judiciary  system, 
Mr.  J.  J.  Taylor,  of  Tioga,  proposed  the  following  plan 
for  the  reorganization  of  justices'  courts.  It  did  not  seem 
to  attract  much  attention,  but  it  is  certainly  ingenious, 
and  ought  to  be  preserved.  These  courts  are  every  day 
becoming  more  and  more  important,  and  we  cannot  but 
think  that  something  like  Mr.  Taylor's  scheme  will  ulti- 
mately be  adopted. 

"  1.  Abolish  our  present  justices'  courts. 

"  2.  Let  the  boards  of  supervisors  divide  each  county  into 
such  a  number  of  judicial  districts  that  one  man  may  be  able 
to  try  ail  the  causes,  civil  and  criminal,  cognizable  before  a 
justice  within  each  district,  say  two  or  three  to  each  member 
of  assembly. 

"  3.  Elect  one  justice  for  each  district,  either  by  the  elec- 
tors of  the  county  at  large  or  by  the  voters  in  each  district. 

"  4.  Let  the  clerk  of  each  town  be  u  clerk  of  the  justices' 
courts. 

"  5.  Let  the  process  be  issued  by  the  clerk,  and  issues  be 
joined  before  him. 

"  6.  Let  a  list  of  the  legal  jurors  in  each  town  be  kept  by 
the  clerk,  and  one  or  two  days  previous  to  the  term  let  the 
clerk  draw,  and  the  constable  summon  twelve  persons  to  at- 
tend, out  of  which  jurors  six  may  be  drawn  for  each  cause. 

"7.  For  the  purpose  of  facilitating  collections,  allow  a  plain- 


640  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846, 

tift'  in  actions  on  contract,  with  the  first  process  to  have  a  dec- 
laration served,  and  bill  of  particulars  of  his  demand,  and  of 
the  credits  he  is  willing  to  allow  the  defendant ;  and  unless  the 
defendant  put  in  a  plea  within  six  days,  and  swear  to  a  de- 
fence, let  j  udgment  be  entered  by  the  clerk  by  default. 

"  8.  Let  the  justice  have  power  to  set  aside  or  correct  judg- 
ments improperly  entered  by  the  clerk. 

"  9.  Let  a  gross  amount  of  justice's  fees  on  each  trial  be 
paid  by  the  plaintiff,  and  recoverable  of  the  defendant,  and 
let  such  fees  be  paid  into  the  county  treasury. 

"  10.  Let  each  justice  be  paid  a  competent,  salary  out  of  the 
county  treasury. 

"11.  Let  one  or  more  justices  be  elected  in  each  town  as 
conservators  of  the  peace,  with  power  to  issue  warrants,  and 
hold  criminals  to  trial,  &c." 

The  convention, — after  providing  that  the  legislature 
at  their  next  session  should  appoint  commissioners  to 
form  into  a  code,  so  far  as  such  commissioners  should 
deem  practicable,  the  laws  of  this  state — after,  on  the 
motion  of  Mr.  Chatfield,  adopting  a  clause  directing  that 
the  same  legislature  should  appoint  commissioners  to 
simplify  the  practice  of  the  law  in  all  our  courts — after 
making  provisions  for  the  organization  of  courts  of  con- 
ciliation in  pursuance  of  a  resolution  introduced  by  Mr. 
Kirkland,  which  was  supported  and  earnestly  urged  by 
Mr.  Stephens,  the  celebrated  traveller,  and  by  Mr.  Bas- 
com — after  adopting  the  plan  of  county  courts  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Crocker — and  after  establishing,  on  the 
motion  of  Mr.  Strong,  of  Monroe,  a  liberal  rule  for  the 
admission  of  attorneys  and  counsellors  to  practice  in  all 
our  courts, — on  the  10th  day  of  September  adopted  sub- 
stantially the  judiciary  system  recommended  by  the  se- 
lect committee,  to  whom  that  great  and  vitally  important 
subject  had  been  referred  ;  a  result  highly  creditable  to 
that  able  and  learned  committee,  and  which,  we  trust, 


184t5.]  Mil.  HOFFMAN'S  REI-OUT.  641 

will  prove  greatly  beneficial  to  the  people  ot"  the  state 
of  New  York,  and  their  posterity. 

Mr.  Hoffman,  as  chairman  of  committee  No.  3,  on 
canals,  the  public  revenue,  and  the  public  debt,  had,  in 
the  month  of  July,  reported,  first,  "on  the  existing  debts 
and  liabilities  of  the  state,  and  to  provide  for  the  pay- 
ment thereof,"  substantially  as  follows : 

1.  The  sum  of  $1,500,000  to  be  annually  applied  to 
the  interest  and  principal  of  the  canal  debt  until  that 
debt  was  paid. 

2.  The  sum  of  $672,500  to  be  paid  yearly  into  the 
treasury  for  the  use  of  the  state. 

3.  The  surplus  revenue  arising  from  the  canals,  after 
paying  the  expenses  of  the  canals,  and  the  two  sums  last 
mentioned,  until  such  surplus  shall  amount  to  $2,500,000, 
to  be  applied  to  the  improvement  of  the  Erie  Canal  in 
such  manner  as  should  be  directed  by  law. 

4.  $500,000,  parcel  of  the  sum  of  $672,500,  to  consti- 
tute 'a  sinking  fund  to  pay  the  principal  and  interest  of 
the  general  fund  debt,  including  debts  for  loans  of  the 
state  credit  to  railroad  companies,  &c.,  leaving  the  sum 
of  $172,500  to  be  applied  to  the  payment  of  the  annual 
current  expenses  of  the  government. 

5.  If  the  sinking  funds,  or  either  of  them,  should  be- 
come insufficient  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  creditors 
of  the  state,  the  legislature  should  by  taxes  so  increase 
the  revenue  of  said  funds  as  to  make  them  respectively 
sufficient  perfectly  to  preserve  the  public  faith. 

On  the  subject  of  the  power  of  the  legislature  to  cre- 
ate future  state  debts  and  liabilities,  Mr.  Hoffman  re- 
ported— 

1.  No  money  shall  ever  be  paid  out  of  the  treasury 
except  in  pursuance  of  a  law  specifically  appropri- 
41 


642  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

ating  the  same,  and  designating  the  object  to  which  it 
is  to  be  applied. 

2.  The  credit  of  the  state  shall  never  be  loaned. 

3.  The   state  may   borrow,   to   meet   contingencies, 
moneys,  which,  in  the  aggregate,  shall  not  exceed  one 
million  dollars,  and  the   moneys  so  borrowed  shall  be 
applied  to  the  purposes  for  which  they  were  obtained, 
and  no  other. 

4.  This  restriction  not  to  apply  to  money  which  it 
may  be  necessary  to  raise  to  repel  invasion  or  suppress 
insurrection. 

5.  Except  the  debts  specified  in  the  third  and  fourth 
sections  of  this  article,  no  debt  shall  be  created  without 
at  the  same  time  laying  a  direct  annual  tax,  sufficient  to 
pay  the  interest  and  redeem  the  principal  in  eighteen 
years ;  but  no  such  law  shall  take  effect  until  it  shall,  at 
a  general  election,  have  been  submitted  to  the  people, 
and  have  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  cast  at  such 
election. 

Afterwards  Gov.  Bouck  proposed  a  substitute  for  Mr. 
Hoffman's  scheme,  and  subsequently  Mr.  Ayrault  pre- 
sented a  third  project.  These  projects  differed  materi- 
ally from  that  of  Mr.  Hoffman.  They  will  be  more 
particularly  noticed  hereafter. 

As  soon  as  the  report  of  the  judiciary  committee  was 
disposed  of,  on  the  llth  of  September,  the  conven- 
tion went  into  committee  of  the  whole  on  the  great 
questions  involved  in  the  report  of  the  finance  committee. 

Mr.  Hoffman  opened  the  debate.  He  first  referred 
to  the  whole  amount  for  which  the  state  was  indebted, 
and  the  items  of  which  it  was  composed.  He  said — 

"The  debt  in  1842  would  be  found  to  be  as  follows: — 
$21,179,019  81  for  the  canals ;  the  railroad  debt  was  then 


1846.]  SPEECH  OF  MR.  HOFFMAN.  643 

considered  as  contingent— but  it  never  was  so  in  regard  to  us. 
We  were  always  bound  to  pay  the  whole  amount.  The  only 
contingency  was,  whether  the  railroad  companies  would  refund 
to  the  state.  He  was  considered  a  panic-maker  in  1841,  be- 
cause he  considered  this  as  a  debt.  This  contingent  debt  was 
now  $1,713,000.  The  treasury  debt,  which  was  less  than 
$2,000,000  in  1842,  was  now  swelled  up  to  more  than  five 
millions  and  a  half.  This  made  the  whole  debt,  in  1842, 
$28,287,000.  This  debt,  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  we 
were  a  young  and  growing  country*,  was  a  British  debt  in 
amount,  in  interest,  and  in  its  threatened  results- — the  wither- 
ing and  blasting  of  all  species  of  industry.  He  brought  no 
complaint  against  the  men  who  created  this  debt.  Let  others 
indulge  in  as  much  vituperation  as  they  see  fit.  He  should 
not  interfere,  nor  attempt  any  apology  for  them.  What,  then, 
was  this  debt  at  the  meeting  of  this  convention  ?  He  quoted 
several  documents  to  show  that  the  canal  debt  stood  thus  :— 
Principal,  $17,516,119  57  ;  interest,  which  must  be  paid  be- 
fore its  extinguishment,  $8,379,838  33 — making  a  total  to  be 
paid  by  the  state,  of  $25,895,957  90.  Insolvent  railroads, 
principal,  $3,515,700;  interest,  (as  above,)  $2,933,165  37 — 
total,  $6,448,865  37.  General  fund  debt,  $2,369,849  24; 
interest,  (as  above,)  $870,296  87— total,  $3, 240, 142  11.  Sol- 
vent railroads,  principal,  $1,713,000 ;  interest,  (as  above,) 
$1,001,707  50 — total,  $2,714,707  50.  This  would  make  a 
total,  which  the  state  must  pay,  of  $38,299,672  88." 

Mr.  H.  next  considered  the  means  of  the  state  of  pay- 
ing the  interest  and  extinguishing  the  principal  of  this 
debt.  Mr.  Hoffman  regarded  the  canal  tolls  as  the  prin- 
cipal source  of  revenue.  "  They  were  large,  and  would 
increase.  They  would  doubtless  reach  a  culminating 
point,  and  then  decline."  The  salt  duties  he  estimated 
at  a  mere  trifle.  "  For  the  state  of  New  York  to  hold 
on  to  the  miserable  pittance,  looked  like  the  veriest  evi- 
dence of  insolvency."  He  considered  the  salt  tax  as  at  an 
end.  "  The  auction  tax  was  equally  unjust  and  unwise." 


644  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

*  *  *  "  He  thought  both  the  auction  and  salt  duties 
would  soon  go  to  the  tomb  of  the  Capulets.  He  be- 
lieved they  were  fast  going  the  way  of  all  the  earth,  and 
it  might  be  thought  unkind  for  him  to  hit  them  this  kick 
to  help  them  on  their  downward  course."*  The  only 
sources  of  revenue,  then,  were  canal  tolls  on  the  one 
hand,  and  direct  taxation  on  the  other.  He  deprecated 
too  great  reliance  on  the  revenue  anticipated  from  tolls. 
The  Welland  Canal,  and  the  contemplated  eastern  and 
southern  railroads,  would  compete  powerfully  with  our 
canals.  Mr.  Hoffman  finally  arrived  at  the  conclusion, 
that  the  adoption  of  his  system  was  absolutely  necessa- 
ry in  order  to  preserve  the  credit  of  the  state,  and  ulti- 
mately extinguish  its  debt. 

The  speech  of  Mr.  Hoffman  was  unquestionably  able, 
but  whoever-  reads  it  will  perceive  a  strong  inclination 
in  the  speaker  to  present  but  one  side  of  the  question, 
and  to  magnify  the  liabilities,  and  depreciate  the  means 
and  resources  of  the  state.  Thus,  in  stating  the  debt  of 
the  state,  in  order  to  make  it  amount  to  upwards  of  38 
millions,  he  includes  $12,183,260  57  of  interest,  to  accrue 
hereafter,  and  also  $1^,713,000,  being  the  principal  of 
loans  of  the  credit  of  the  state  to  railroad  companies, 
which  he  admits  to  be  solvent — to  which  he  adds, 
$1,001,707  50  of  interest  to  accrue  hereafter,  making 
$2,714,707  50,  which,  to  say  the  least,  according  to  his 
own  admission,  is  a  mere  nominal  debt.  Add  this  last 


*  From  a  statement  made  by  the  comptroller  to  the  convention,  it  ap- 
peared that  the  salt  duties  paid  into  the  canal  fund  amount- 
ed to $2,055,458  OR 

Auction  duties 3,592,039  05 


05,647,497  11 


1846.]  STATE    DEBT.  64.5 

sum  to  the  interest  which  will  be  due  on  the  other  state 
debts,  unless  the  principal  is  paid  sooner  than  Mr.  H.  an- 
ticipates, and  the  amount  to  be  deducted  from  Mr.  H.'s 
state  debt  of  $38,299,672  88,  will  be  $14,897,997  07, 
leaving  the  present  debt,  according  to  Mr.  Hoffman's 
estimate,  at  $23,401,675  81.  The  view  which  he  pre- 
sents of  the  probable  future  income  from  the  canals,  and 
from  the  salt  and  auction  duties,  is  extremely  restricted 
as  to  the  amount,  and  less  than  what  will  probably  be 
realized  in  almost  any  conceivable  state  of  things  which 
can  hereafter  occur.  Mr.  Hoffman  ever  since,  and  in- 
deed before  the  year  1842,  had  thought  much  on  this 
subject.  The  system  now  recommended  by  him  was 
that  shadowed  forth  by  the  act  of  1842,  which  we  have 
seen  was  in  a  great  degree  the  child  of  his  own  mind, 
which  he  had  powerfully  aided  to  bring  into  existence, 
and  which  he  had  nurtured  with  great  care  and  paren- 
tal affection.  Is  it  wonderful,  strictly  honest  and  great- 
ly talented  as  all  men  admit  that  he  is,  that  his  zeal 
should  have  been  great,  not  to  say  overmuch,  to  give 
immortality  to  this  favorite  offspring  ?  Is  it  surprising, 
that  in  supporting  his  positions,  that  zeal  should  insensi- 
bly have  induced  him  to  exhibit  more  of  the  acuteness 
and  skill  of  the  ingenious  lawyer,  and  less  of  the  liberal 
views  of  the  enlightened  and  far-seeing  statesman  ? 

Mr.  Archer,  from  Wayne,  a  member  who  heretofore 
had  taken  little  share  in  the  debates,  first  replied  to  Mr. 
Hoffman,  and,  after  modestly  stating  that  he  should  not 
"  attempt  to  cope  with  the  Ajax  Telamon"  who  had  ad- 
dressed the  house,  he  urged,  among  other  arguments, 
that  the  state  had  invested  thirty-one  millions  in  canale, 
nearly  one-third  of  which  was  now  wholly  unproduc- 
tive, and  must  remain  so  forever,  unless  the  Erie  Canal 


646  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

should  be  widened,  and  the  Genesee  Valley  and  Black 
River  canals  completed.  And  he  inquired  whether  it 
was  wise  to  sacrifice  all  the  moneys  which  had  been  ex- 
pended in  enlarging  the  Erie,  and  in  constructing  the 
Genesee  Valley  and  Black  River  canals  ? 

Mr.  Angel,  from  Allegany,  delivered  a  long  and  able 
argument  on  the  same  side  of  the  question.  He  stated 
the  real  debt  of  the  state  to  be,  according  to  the  comp- 
troller's report,  $22,254,083  78.  He  presented  a  rapid 
but  very  encouraging  view  of  the  finances  of  the  state  ; 
he  insisted  that  the  state  was  abundantly  able  to  com- 
plete its  public  works ;  that  the  sooner  that  completion 
was  accomplished,  the  better  it  would  be  for  the  state 
and  for  the  people  ;  and  he  presented,  in  bold  relief,  the 
claims  of  the  southwestern  counties  to  have  the  Genesee 
Valley  Canal  speedily  constructed  and  put  in  operation. 

In  reply  to  Mr.  Hoffman's  remarks  in  relation  to  the 
ability  of  the  state,  Mr.  Angel  said  : 

"  My  friend  from  Herkimer  has  been  many  long  years 
brooding  over  the  dark  side  of  this  picture  ;  he  has  been  em- 
ployed in  calculating  and  compounding  interest,  and  footing 
up  millions ;  he  has  wandered  so  long  among  the  mysteries  of 
the  comptroller's  reports,  that  he  has  lost  his  balance,  frightened 
himself,  and  now  conies  here  to  frighten  others.  Every  thing 
appears  dark  and  sombre  to  him.  Sir,"  continued  Mr.  Angel, 
"  I  desire  to  invite  the  attention  of  the  house  to  that  side  of  the 
picture  which -the  gentleman  from  Herkimer  has  kept  out  of 
view." 

The  fifth  section,  reported  by  the  finance  committee, 
provided  that  the  claims  of  the  state  against  incorpora- 
ted companies  should  be  enforced,  and  not  be  deferred, 
released,  or  compromised.  Mr.  Jordan  moved  to  amend 
this  section,  by  striking  out  the  words  "  not  deferred,  re- 
leased, or  compromised  ;"  and  on  this  motion  consider- 


1846.]        DEBATE  ON  HOFFMAN^  REPORT.          647 

able  discussion  took  place.     In  defence  of  the  section, 
Mr.  Hoffman  said — 

"  When  the  enemies  of  the  section  proposed  to  amend,  it 
was  time  to  look  after  it.  These  corporations  and  corporate 
property  seemed  to  have  been  held  as  something  sacred.  The 
artificial  man  that  the  legislature  made  had  been  constantly 
regarded  and  treated  on  a  different  principle  from  the  natural 
man  that  God  made.  He  had  hoped  that  we  had  got  over 
this  partiality  for  the  creature." 

The  motion  to  amend,  however,  failed  in  the  commit- 
tee of  the  whole,  as  did  also  a  motion  by  Mr.  Marvin,  to 
strike  out  the  whole  section. 

On  the  next  day  (the  16th)  Mr.  Worden  made  a  very 
eloquent  and  powerful  speech  against  the  restrictions 
contained  in  Mr.  Hoffman's  report ;  in  the  course  ot 
which  he  asserted,  that  the  trade  which  was  based  on 
the  transportation  on  the  canal,  had.  within  twenty 
years,  increased  600  per  cent. !  And  he  alleged,  that  he 
had  proved  that  the  increase  would  be  as  great  for 
twenty  years  to  come.  Our  limits  will  not  permit  us  to 
give  even  a  skeleton  of  this  argument. 

Mr.  Marvin,  in  reply  to  the  allegation  of  Mr.  Hoff- 
man, that  the  income  arising  from  the  canals  would  in- 
crease until  it  arrived  at  its  culminating  point,  and  then 
would  decline,  said : 

"  He  believed  the  result  would  be  very  different.  If  it  were 
not  that  he  was  not  now  disposed  to  detain  the  committee,  he 
could  demonstrate  it.  The  topography  of  the  whole  globe 
presented  no  spot  which  could  compare  with  the  state  of  New 
York  in  the  advantage  of  position.  There  was  no  portion  of 
the  United  States  where  the  great  West  could  be  successfully 
connected  by  water  communication  with  the  Atlantic,  except 
where  the  Erie  Canal  passed  the  Allegany  range  of  moun- 
tains, without  going  as  far  south  as  Georgia.  He  proceeded 


648  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

to  describe  the  country  which  must  seek  a  market  by  means 
of  the  Erie  Canal,  embracing  several  of  the  western  states,  and 
urged  the  enlargement  of  the  canal  as  the  natural  avenue  of 
the  commerce  of  those  states." 

Mr.  Stow  moved  to  amend  the  first  section,  so  that  it 
should  read  as  follows  : 

"§  1.  After  paying  the  expenses  of  collection,  superintend- 
ence, and  ordinary  repairs,  $1,500,000  of  the  revenues  of  the 
state  canals  shall,  in  each  fiscal  year,  and  at  that  rate  for  a 
shorter  period,  commencing  on  the  1st  day  of  June,  1846,  be 
set  apart  as  a  sinking  fund,  to  pay  the  interest  and  redeem  the 
principal  [of  the  state  debt  until  the  1st  day  of  July,  1856  ; 
after  which,  $2,000,000  of  said  revenues  shall  continue  to 
be  applied  or  set  apart  annually]  until  the  same  shall  be 
wholly  paid  ;  and  the  principal  and  income  of  the  said  sinking 
fund  shall  be  sacredly  applied  to  that  purpose." 

The  matter  proposed  to  be  inserted  is  in  brackets,  and 
takes  place  of  the  words  "  of  that  part  of  the  state  debt 
called  the  canal  debt,  as  it  existed  at  the  time  aforesaid, 
and  including  $300,000  then  to  be  borrowed." 

This  motion  Mr.  Stow  supported  by  a  very  ingenious 
and  able  argument,  which  evidently  produced  great 
effect  upon  the  convention. 

Discussions  on  the  report  of  the  finance  committee 
continued  to  occupy  the  time  of  the  convention  for  sev- 
eral days  ;  and  Mr.  Loomis,  Gov.  Bouck,  and  Mr.  Wor- 
den  respectively,  proposed  amendments,  tending  to  alter 
materially  the  plan  as  first  reported  by  the  select  com- 
mittee. The  committee  of  the  whole  seem  not  to  have 
arrived  at  any  specific  conclusion  on  the  various  pro- 
jects submitted  for  their  consideration,  and  on  the  19th 
day  of  September  they  rose,  and,  in  pursuance  of  a  pre- 
vious order,  reported  the  first  article  as  originally  re- 
ported by  the  standing  committee  to  the  convention, 


1846.]  MR.  LOOMIs's    SUBSTITUTE.  649 

"and  progress  on  the  other,  asking  leave  to  sit  again 
thereon."-  Whereupon  Mr.  Chatfield  moved  to  dis- 
charge the  committee  of  the  whole  from  the  second  re- 
port, and  the  convention  sustained  his  motion  by  a  vote 
of  49  to  ^40.  The  whole  subject  was  now,  therefore,  be- 
fore the  convention. 

Mr.  Loomis  offered  a  substitute  for  Mr.  Hoffman's 
first  proposition,  to  the  effect  that  $1,300,000,  instead  ot 
a  million  and  a  half,  from  the  net  proceeds  of  the  canal 
tolls,  should  be  set  apart  to  pay  the  canal  debt  until  the 
year  1855,  and  after  that  time,  the  sum  of  $1,700,000 
should  be  applied  in  the  same  way  until  the  debt  was 
paid.  Gov.  Bouck,  who  had  offered  a  similar  proposi- 
tion, except  that  he  proposed  that  the  sinking  fund  should 
be  $100,000  less  than  Mr.  Loomis,  in  a  spirit  of  com- 
promise, and  with  a  view,  as  he  said,  to  produce  more 
harmony,  withdrew  his  amendment.* 

Mr.  Ayrault,  from  Livingston  county,  made  a  very 
brief  but  able  speech  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Loomis's  sub- 
stitute, in  which  he  insisted  that  provision  ought  to  be 
made  for  finishing  the  Genesee  Valley  and  Black  River 
canals,  as  well  as  for  providing  for  the  completion  of  the 
enlargement  of  the  Erie  Canal.  He  presented  his  plan, 
which  would  extinguish  a  debt  of  $22,300,000  in  twenty- 
three  years,  or  a  debt  of  $25,000,000  in  twenty-eight 
years.  All  agreed  that  a  period  ought  to  be  fixed  for 
the  final  extinction  of  the  public  debt ;  but  some  desired 


*  Without  any  positive  knowledge  on  the  subject,  we  infer  that  Mr. 
Hoffman  had  ascertained  that  his  plan,  in  all  its  details,  would  not  com- 
mand the  support  of  the  majority  of  the  convention,  and  that  his  friend 
and  colleague,  Mr.  Loomis,  with  the  approbation  and  request  of  Mr.  H., 
proposed  his  substitute  as  less  stringent  than  Mr.  Hoffman's  scheme,  and 
therefore  more  likely  to  succeed. 


650  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

to  fix  on  a  shorter,  and  others  a  longer  time,  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  that  object.  The  question,  therefore, 
resolved  itself  into  one  of  time,  and  whether  the  surplus 
revenue  should  be  applied  to  the  finishing  of  the  Black 
River  and  Genesee  Valley  canals,  as  well  as  to  impro- 
ving the  Erie  Canal. 

The  first  section  of  Mr.  Loomis's  substitute  was 
carried,  87  to  26. 

The  second  section  of  the  substitute  provided  that 
$350,000,  instead  of  $672,500,  from  the  surplus  revenue, 
should  annually  be  paid  into  the  treasury,  until  the 
canal  debt  should  be  paid,  and  then  the  sum  of  $1,500,000 
should  be  paid  yearly,  from  such  revenue,  until  the  gen- 
eral fund  debt  and  other  liabilities  of  the  state  should  be 
discharged.  This  section  was  also  adopted  by  the 
strong  vote  of  89  to  22. 

The  next  question  was  on  the  following  section  of 
Mr.  Loomis's  substitute — 

"  §  3.  The  surplus  revenues  of  the  canals,  after  complying 
with  the  provisions  of  the  two  last  preceding  sections,  shall  be 
appropriated,  at  the  discretion  of  the  legislature,  to  defray  the 
ordinary  expenses  of  government,  and  for  other  purposes ; 
but  no  law  shall  be  passed  appropriating  or  pledging  for  the 
construction  or  improvement  of  any  canal  or  railroad,  any  part 
of  such  revenues,  beyond  those  of  the  year  current,  at  the  time 


Mr.  Bouck  offered  the  following  substitute  for  the 
proposition  of  Mr.  Loomis — 

"The  sum  of  $172,000  shall  be  annually  applied  to  pay 
any  deficit  which  may  occur  in  fixing  the  revenue  of  the  gen- 
eral fund  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  government ;  the  re- 
mainder of  the  canal  revenue  shall  be  appropriated  to  the 
enlargement  of  the  Erie  Canal,  and  the  completion  of  the 
Genesee  Valley  and  Black  River  canals,  until  the  same  are 


1846.]  MR.  RUSSELL'S  AMENDMENT.  651 

completed.  After  the  payment  of  the  public  debt,  $672,000 
shall  be  annually  appropriated  from  the  canal  revenues  to  the 
general  fund,  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  government." 

Several  amendments  to  Mr.  Bouck's  substitute  were 
proposed  and  lost,  but  when  the  question  on  the  substi- 
tute was  taken,  it  was  lost,  there  being  54  for  and  60 
against  it.  A  vote  was  then  taken,  by  the  aid  of  the 
previous  question,  on  the  third  section  of  Mr.  Loomis's 
substitute,  and  it  was  rejected  by  a  majority  of  8  votes. 

In  the  evening  session  of  the  same  day,  Mr.  Russell 
offered  a  resolution  of  instruction  to  the  committee  on 
finance,  as  follows — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  committee  on  finance  be  instructed  to 
report  forthwith  the  following  as  section  3d  of  the  first  article 
reported  by  the  committee — 

"  §  3.  After  complying  with  the  provisions  of  the  two  last 
preceding  sections,  the  surplus  revenues  of  the  canals,  until 
the  1st  of  June,  1856,  shall  be  appropriated  as  follows:  The 
sum  of  $200,000  annually,  to  defray  the  ordinary  expenses  of 
government,  and  the  remainder  to  the  improvement  or  com- 
pletion of  the  canals,  and  after  the  time  mentioned  in  this 
section,  to  such  purposes  as  the  legislature  may  direct." 

Mr.  Murphy  moved  the  previous  question. 
Mr.  White  desired  to  move  an  amendment. 
Mr.  Murphy  withdrew  his  motion. 
Mr.  White  offered  his  amendment  as  follows,  and  re- 
newed the  motion  for  the  previous  question — 

"  After  paying  the  said  expenses  of  superintendence  and  re- 
pairs of  the  said  canals,  and  the  sums  appropriated  by  the 
1st  and  2d  sections  of  this  article,  there  shall  be  paid  out  of 
the  surplus  revenues  of  the  canals  to  the  treasury  of  the 
state,  on  or  before  the  30th  of  September  in  each  year,  for 
the  use  and  benefit  of  the  general  fund,  such  sum,  not  exceed- 
ing $200,000,  as  may  be  required  to  defray  the  necessary  ex- 


652  POLITICA^  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [l84fi. 

pcnscs  of  the  state ;  and  the  remainder  of  the  revenues  of  tlv 
said  canals  shall,  in  each  fiscal  year,  be  appropriated,  in  such 
manner  as  the  legislature  shall  direct,  to  the  completion  of  the 
Erie  Canal  enlargement,  and  the  Genesee  Valley  and  Black 
Hiver  canals,  until  the  said  canals  and  improvements  shall  be 
completed." 

Various  unsuccessful  attempts  to  alter  and  modify 
these  propositions  were  made,  but  the  resolution  of  Mr. 
Russell  as  amended  by  Mr.  White  was  finally  adopted. 
64  to  52. 

The  remaining  sections  of  the  first  article  reported  by 
the  finance  committee  were  then  agreed  to  by  the 
convention,  without  material  alteration,  with  great 
unanimity. 

The  convention  then  proceeded  to  action  on  the 
second  article  reported  by  the  finance  committee. 

The  first  section  was  adopted  without  alteration  ;  and 
the  second  section,  which  prohibited  the  state  from  loan- 
ing its  credit  to  individuals  or  corporations,  was  agreed 
to  unanimously. 

The  third  section  limited  the  state,  in  the  creation  of 
debts,  to  $1,000,000,  which  was  only  to  be  tolerated  in 
cases  of  failure  of  revenue,  or  for  expenses  not  provided 
for ;  and  the  loans  thus  made  ^  ere  to  be  applied  to  the 
purposes  for  which  they  were  made,  and  none  other. 
This  was  adopted  by  the  convention  without  a  division. 

The  fourth  section  authorized  the  state  to  contract 
debts  to  repel  invasion,  &c.,  which  was  also  agreed  to 
without  opposition. 

The  fifth  section  declared  that  no  debts,  except  such 
as  were  provided  for  in  the  third  and  fourth  sections, 
should  be  created,  without  at  the  same  time  laying  n 
direct  tax,  sufficient  to  pay  the  interest  and  principa 


1846.]  MR.  CHATFIELD'S  SECTION.  653 

thereof  in  eighteen  years,  and  for  a  single  object,  which 
object  should  be  specified  in  the  act  which  authorized 
the  contraction  of  such  debt.  Such  law  not  to  be  of 
any  binding  force  until  it  should  be  submitted  to  the 
people,  and  be  approved  by  a  majority  of  the  voters  at 
a  general  election.  After  the  approval  of  the  law  by 
the  people,  the  legislature  might,  at  any  time  before  the 
debt  was  incurred,  forbid  the  contracting  of  any  further 
debt,  but  the  tax  imposed  by  such  law  should  remain 
unrepeatable  until  the  debts  contracted  under  it  should 
be  paid.  Only  one  law  of  this  description  should  be 
submitted  to  the  people  at  the  same  election. 

A  vigorous  opposition  was  made  to  this  section.  Mr. 
Worden  and  Mr.  Simmons  spoke  with  much  warmth 
against  it,  but  it  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  70  to  36,  and 
this  important  section  has  become  a  part  of  our  consti- 
tution. 

The  6th  section  was  next  read  as  follows — 

"  §  6.  Every  law  which  imposes,  continues,  or  revives  a  tax, 
shall  distinctly  state  the  tax  and  the  object  to  which  it  is  to 
be  applied,  and  it  shall  not  be  sufficient  to  refer  to  any  other 
law  to  fix  such  tax  or  object." 

Mr.  Chatfield  offered  an  additional  section,  providing 
that  no  direct  tax  should  be  levied  as  long  as  the  rev- 
enue of  the  state  should  be  sufficient  to  meet  the  de- 
mands of  the  several  sinking  funds,  and  pay  the  debts, 
as  provided  for  in  the  preceding  article,  and  the  ex- 
penses of  the  state  government.  Mr.  C.  said  he  had 
drawn  up  this  because  he  did  not  think  it  was  the  policy 
of  this  state  for  the  next  twenty  or  thirty  years,  to  im- 
pose direct  taxes,  especially  when  the  revenues  of  the 
state  would  be  sufficient  for  every  purpose.  He  quoted 


654  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW    YORK.  [1846. 

from  the  comptroller's  report  to  show  what  the  con- 
templated revenues  and  expenditures  would  be. 

Mr.  White  and  Mr.  W.  Taylor  severally  offered 
amendments  to  Mr.  Chatfield's  amendment,  which,  as 
well  as  Mr.  Chatfield's  amendment,  were  all  negatived. 

Mr.  St.  John  proposed  the  following  additional  sec- 
tion to  the  report  of  the  finance  committee — 

"  §  — .  The  provision  contained  in  section  3  of  the  next 
preceding  article,  for  the  disposition  of  the  canal  revenues, 
shall  continue  in  force  until  the  first  day  of  January,  1850, 
and  after  that  time  the  whole  of  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the 
state  government,  except  such  portions  thereof  as  shall  be 
provided  for  by  other  means  than  by  a  direct  tax,  shall  be 
paid  from  the  said  canal  revenues;  and  no  direct  tax  shall 
thereafter  be  levied  upon  the  people  of  this  state,  to  pay  the 
whole  or  any  portion  of  such  expense,  unless  there  shall  be  a 
deficiency  in  the  said  canal  revenues  to  pay  the  same,  after 
complying  with  the  provisions  of  sections  1  and  2  of  the  said 
article." 

Mr.  Russell  moved  to  substitute  the  section  laid  on 
the  table  by  Mr.  W.  Taylor,  as  follows— 

"  §  — .  If  at  any  time  after  the  period  of  five  years  from 
the  adoption  of  this  constitution,  the  revenues  of  the  state  un- 
appropriated by  the  last  preceding  article,  shall  not  be  suf- 
ficient to  defray  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  government, 
without  continuing  or  laying  a  direct  tax,  the  legislature  may, 
at  its  discretion,  supply  the  deficiency,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
from  the  surplus  revenues  of  the  canals,  after  complying  with 
the  provisions  of  the  first  two  sections  of  the  last  preceding 
article,  for  paying  the  interest  and  extinguishing  the  principal 
of  the  canal  and  general  fund  debt ;  but  the  sum  thus  appro- 
priated from  the  surplus  revenues  of  the  canals  shall  not  ex- 
ceed annually  $350,000,  including  the  sum  of  $200,000  pro- 
vided by  the  3d  section  of  the  last  preceding  article,  for  the 
expenses  of  the  government,  until  the  general  fund  debt  shall 


184G.]          MR.  HOFFMAN'S  CLOSING  REMARKS.  656 

be  extinguished,  or  until  the  Erie  Canal  enlargement  and 
Genesee  Valley  and  Black  River  canals  shall  be  completed ; 
and  after  that  debt  shall  be  paid,  or  the  said  canals  shall  be 
completed,  then  the  sum  of  $672,500,  or  so  much  thereof  as 
shall  be  necessary,  may  be  annually  appropriated  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  government." 

The  substitute  of  Mr.  Taylor  was  opposed,  as  wrong  in 
itself,  and  as  inconsistent  with  principles  already  settled 
by  the  convention.  A  debate  which  produced  consider- 
able excitement  ensued,  but  the  substitute  of  Mr.  Tay- 
lor, as  proposed  by  Mr.  Russell,  was  adopted,  ayes  76, 
noes  34  ;  and  finally  the  section  as  amended  was  carried, 
by  a  vote  of  58  to  50.  We  perceive  Mr.  St.  John,  a 
very  clear-headed  and  judicious  member,  voted  both 
against  the  substitute  and  the  section  as  modified  by  it. 

The  seventh  section  of  the  second  article  reported  by 
the  finance  committee,  which  requires  three-fifths  of  all 
the  members  elected  to  the  legislature,  to  constitute  a 
quorum,  in  order  to  pass  any  law  which  continues  or 
revives  a  tax,  or  makes  any  appropriation,  discharges 
any  debt,  &c.,  was  agreed  to  unanimously. 

The  article  having  been  finished,  and  the  debates  on 
it  terminated,  Mr.  Hoffman  rose  and  said — 

"  The  convention,  after  a  labored  effort,  had  got  through  with 
these  two  articles.  Taken  together,  they  would  preserve  your 
faith — they  would  pay  your  debt.  They  might  not  be  entire- 
ly satisfactory  to  any  one  member,  but  they  would  produce 
this  result.  They  would  do  more.  They  would  set  an  exam- 
ple, if  the  convention  would  adhere  to  it,  that  would  cause 
every  state  in  this  Union,  as  soon  as  it  should  be  in  the  power 
of  such  states  to  do  so,  to  provide  for  and  sponge  out  its  debts 
by  payment,  thus  removing  from  representative  government 
the  reproaches  cast  on  it  on  the  other  side  of  the  water.  To 
this  extent  had  this  convention  come,  and  if  its  labors  should 


630  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

be  repudiated  by  the  state,  nothing  could  keep  down  the  judg- 
ment you  had  pronounced  on  this  important  subject.  It 
would  live.  It  would  go  down  with  time  itself,  until  time 
should  mingle  with  eternity.  He  predicted  that  our  labors 
had  overcome  the  greatest  disgrace  ever  attempted  to  be  cast 
on  free  institutions.  And  if  you  would  go  on,  and  fix  the  in- 
dividual liability  of  the  banker,  compel  corporations  to  be  form- 
ed under  general  laws,  and  guard  the  power  of  municipal  cor- 
porations to  make  debts,  you  would  have  achieved  what  would 
bring  you  that  which  you  had  not  had  for  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury—a legislature  in  these  halls.  He  moved  that  this  article 
be  laid  aside  and  printed." 

This  eloquent  peroration  of  Mr.  Hoffman  was  follow- 
ed by  some  appropriate  and  judicious  remarks  of  Mr. 
Worden,  which  concluded  the  labors  of  the  convention 
on  this  great  and  vitally  important  question. 

The  convention  then,  without  going  into  committee 
of  the  whole,  proceeded  to  consider  and  decide  on  the 
reports  of  the  committee  on  currency  and  banking,  on 
corporations  other  than  banking  and  municipal  corpora- 
tions, on  local  officers,  on  rights  and  privileges,  on  edu- 
cation and  common  schools,  on  future  amendments  to 
the  constitution,  and  on  the  creation  and  division  of  es- 
tates in  lands. 

To  give  even  a  skeleton  of  the  discussions  on  these 
various  subjects  would  greatly  exceed  the  limits  pre- 
scribed to  this  work.  We  must,  therefore,  confine  our- 
selves to  a  mere^llusion  to  some  of  the  most  prominent 
questions  which  occupied  the  attention  of  the  conven- 
tion, remarking  in  passing,  that  on  the  28th  of  Septem- 
ber, Mr.  Stow,  a  talented  and  efficient  member  from 
Erie,  who,  we  believe,  had  not  before  been  a  member  of 
any  legislative  assembly,  but  whose  father  was  long  a 
distinguished  member  of  congress  from  the  county  of 


1846.]  ELECTIVE  FRANCHISE.  657 

Lewis,  offered  for  the  consideration  of  the  convention 
the  following  sections  to  be  added  to  the  fourth  ar- 
ticle :— 

"  §  — .  An  elector  owning  a  freehold,  or  having  an  unexpired 
term  of  not  less  than  twenty-one  years  in  a  leasehold,  (now 
existing,)  may,  by  an  instrument  executed  by  him,  declare  that 
he  intends  to  exempt  from  incumbrances  for  debt  the  property 
described  in  such  instrument — the  value  of  such  property 
shall  not  be  less  than  one  thousand  dollars. 

"  §  — .  The  value  of  the  property  mentioned  in  the  last  sec- 
tion shall  be  ascertained  by  the  assessors  of  the  town  or  ward 
in  which  it  shall  be  situated ;  who  shall  make  a  certificate  of 
their  appraisal.  Such  instrument  and  such  certificate  shall  be 
acknowledged,  or  proved  in  the  manner  entitling  a  deed  to  be 
recorded,  and  shall  be  recorded  in  the  clerk's  office  of  the 
county  in  which  the  property  is  situated ;  and  notice  of  such 
record  shall  be  published  in  such  manner  and  for  such  time  as 
shall  be  prescribed  by  law,  after  such  record  ;  and  after  notice 
thereof  shall  have  been  duly  published,  such  property  shall 
riot  be  incumbered  by,  or  for,  any  debt  created  or  contracted 
by  such  elector.  This  privilege  shall  not  enable  an  elector  to 
hold  more  than  one  piece  of  property  thus  exempt  at  the 
same  time  ;  and  such  exemption  shall  cease  whenever  he  shall 
cease  to  be  a  resident  of  this  state." 

This  proposition  does  not  seem  to  have  excited  much 
attention  in  the  convention ;  but  we  hope  we  shall  be 
pardoned  if  we  predict  that  it  will  hereafter  constitute 
a  grave  and  important  subject  of  legislation. 

On  the  subject  of  the  currency  and  banking,  we  can 
only  refer  the  reader  to  an  elaborate,  learned,  and  able 
speech,  delivered  by  Mr.  Cambreling,  which  will  be 
found  reported  at  large  in  the  reports  of  the  debates  in 
the  convention  by  S.  Croswell  &  Button,  Commencing 
at  page  755. 

On  the  subject  of  the  elective  franchise,  the  first  section 
42 


058  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NKW  YORK.  [1846- 

reported  by  the  select  committee  was  in  the  following 
words  : — 

"§  1.  Every  white  male  citizen  of  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  who  shall  have  been  a  citizen  for  sixty  days,  and  an  in- 
habitant of  this  state  one  year  next  preceding  any  election, 
and  for  the  last  six  months  a  resident  of  the  county  where  he 
may  offer  his  vote,  shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  such  election,  in 
the  election  district  of  which  he  shall  have  been  an  actual 
resident  during  the  last  preceding  sixty  days,  and  not  else- 
where, for  all  officers  that  now  are,  or  hereafter  may  be,  elec- 
tive by  the  people." 

Mr.  Bruce,  of  Madison  county,  moved  to  strike  out 
from  the  first  line  the  word  "  white."  This  motion  put 
in  issue  the  great  question  whether  colored  citizens 
should  be  placed  on  an  equality  with  the  whites,  as  re- 
spects the  right  of  suffrage.  Messrs.  Burr,  Bruce,  Strong, 
A.  W.  Young,  Rhoades,  Waterbury,  Simmons,  and 
others  supported  the  amendment,  which  was  opposed  by 
Messrs.  W.  Taylor,  Russell,  Kennedy,  Stow,  Perkins, 
and  others.  We  cannot  give  even  a  sketch  of  the  ar- 
guments on  this  question. 

During  the  progress  of  the  discussion  Mr.  Kirkland 
offered  a  proposition,  which  he  said  he  believed  would 
enable  the  convention  to  decide  upon  this  question  with 
a  great  deal  of  unanimity.  There  were  few  gentlemen, 
he  believed,  who  desired  to  deprive  the  colored  popula- 
tion of  their  natural  rights,  while  there  were  many  who 
doubted  the  propriety  of  at  once  admitting  them  to 
share  with  white  citizens  the  benefits  of  the  elective 
franchise.  His  proposition  was,  to  save  to  the  colored 
people  the  same  privileges  which  they  now  possess,  and 
also  to  submit  to  the  people  the  question  of  allowing  them 
to  enjoy  the  elective  franchise.  He  said  he  would  pre- 
sent his  plan  in  form  in  due  season. 


1846.]  EQUAL  SUFFRAGE.  659 

This  amendment  or  substitute,  it  will  be  perceived,  in- 
volved the  questions  whether  all  colored  men  should  not 
be  excluded  from  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  whether  the 
electors  of  the  state  should  not  be  permitted  to  decide 
by  their  votes  whether  the  colored  citizens  should  not 
possess  an  equal  right  of  suffrage  with  the  whites. 
Those  who  voted  against  it,  therefore,  not  only  declared 
themselves  against  submitting  the  decision  of  the  latter 
question  to  the  people,  but  in  favor  of  excluding  a  col- 
ored man,  whatever  might  be  his  wealth  or  moral  worth, 
from  the  privilege  of  voting,  because  he  was  not  a  white 
man. 

The  following  are  the  ayes  and  noes  on  Mr.  Kirk- 
land's  amendment : — 

AYES — Messrs.  Allen,  Archer,  Ayrault,  F.  F.  Backus,  H. 
Backus,  Baker,  Bascom,  Bergen,  Bowdish,  Bruce,  Bull,  Burr, 
R.  Campbell,  Candee,  Cook,  Crooker,  Dana,  Dodd,  Graham, 
Greene,  Harrison,  Hart,  Hawley,  Hoffman,  Hotchkiss,  E.  Hun- 
tington,  Hutchinson,  Kemble,  Kernan,  Kingsley,  Kirkland,  Mar-_ 
vin,  Maxwell,  Miller,  Munro,  Nellis,  Nicholas,  Parish,  Patter- 
son, Penniman,  Porter,  Rhoades,  Richmond,  Ruggles,  St. 
John,  Shaver,  Simmons,  E.  Spencer,  W.  H.  Spencer,  Stan  ton, 
Stow,  Strong,  Taggart,  Tallmadge,  Tuthill,  Ward,  Warren, 
Waterbury,  Worden,  A.  Wright,  W.  B.  Wright,  Young— 63. 

NOES — Messrs.  Brown,  Brundage,  Clark,  Conely,  Cornel], 
Cuddeback,  Danforth,  Dorlon,  Dubois,  Hunt,  A.  Huntington, 
Jones,  Kennedy,  Mann,  McNiel,  Morris,  Nicoll,  O'Conor,  Per- 
kins, President,  Riker,  Russell,  Sandford,  Sheldon,  Stephens, 
Swackhamer,  J.  J.  Taylor,  Tilden,  Townsend,  Wood,  Yawger, 
Youngs — 32. 

It  is  painful  to  perceive,  among  the  names  of  those 
who  voted  in  the  negative,  that  of  the  talented,  enlarged, 
and  liberal-minded  Brown,  of  Orange,  a?  well  as  that 
of  the  eloquent,  amiable,  and  benevolent  O'Conor,  of 


660  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

New  York,  both  of  whom,  we  believe,  are  natives  of  a 
foreign  country. 

We  wish  we  could  present  the  arguments  on  this 
question,  even  in  an  abbreviated  form,  as  some  views 
were  exhibited,  which,  if  not  interesting,  at  least  were 
curious.  Mr.  Perkins,  for  instance,  a  native  of  New 
England,  and  a  democrat,  attempted  to  prove  from  the 
Bible  that  the  negroes  were  an  inferior  race,  "marked" 
as  such  by  the  Almighty  Creator,  and  therefore  that  they 
ought  not  to  enjoy  the  right  of  suffrage.* 

It  would  seem  that  Mr.  Perkins  was  very  partial  to 
this  view  of  the  question  and  this  train  of  reasoning,  as 
leading  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion  in  respect  to  the 
propriety  of  extending  the  elective  franchise  to  the  black 
man ;  for  a  few  days  afterwards,  in  settling  the  question 
as  to  the  time  of  residence  of  white  voters  in  the  town 
or  ward  where  they  gave  their  vote,  Mr.  Perkins,  who 
contended  for  the  shortest  period,  reproached  those  who 
desired  to  fix  a  longer  term  of  residence  of  "  white  vo- 
ters" than  he  thought  necessary,  with  having  lately 
manifested  an  anxiety  "  to  let  in  a  class  of  colored  per- 
sons, whose  degradation  and  vices  decreased  their  num- 
bers annually." 

"  It  was,"  he  said,  "  the  destiny  of  the  race  to  occupy  an 
inferior  social  position  to  the  white.  It  was  the  latent  decree 
of  the  Almighty,  and  nothing  could  change  it.  Mr.  P.  laid  it 
down  as  the  economy  of  Providence,  that  there  should  be  sep- 
arate races  and  grades  of  beings  on  the  earth.  He  asserted 
that  the  great  offence  which  brought  the  flood  on  the  earth 
was  the  intercourse  between  the  sons  of  God  and  the  daugh- 
ters of  men — the  intercourse  of  one  race  with  another  that 
^od  had  separated.  When  they  commingled,  he  separated 


*  See  hi*  speech,  C.  &  S.  Debates,  p.  789. 


ISiC.]  MR.  CLYDE'S  RESOLUTIONS.  66J 

them  Jtgain.  A  century  after  the  dispersion  at  Babel,  profane 
historv  showed  that  this  black  race  existed,  with  all  the  char- 
acteristics that  now  marked  them.  That  climate  should  have 
done  this  was  impossible.  This  mark  was  put  on  them  as  a 
warning  that  other  nations  should  not  commingle  with  them." 
Mr.  Perkins  went  on  to  say  that  "  subsequently,  when  the 
Jews  intermingled  with  other  nations,  it  was  called  whoredom, 
and  was  denounced  by  God.  You  could  not  admit  the  blacke 
to  a  participation  in  the  government  of  the  country,  unless  you 
put  them  on  terms  of  social  equality  with  us,  and  that  could 
only  be  done  by  degrading  our  own  race  to  a  level  with  them." 

This  reasoning  of  Mr.  Perkins  was  ridiculed  with 
some  severity  by  Messrs.  Simmons,  Dana,  Crooker,  Pat- 
terson, and  even  by  Mr.  Stow,  who  had  made  a  very 
able,  candid,  and  ingenious  argument  against  admitting 
colored  persons  to  an  equal  right  of  suffrage.* 

On  the  1st  of  October,  Mr.  Clyde  offered  the  follow- 
ing resolutions : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  select  committee,  to  whom  is  referred 
the  revision  of  the  several  articles  adopted  by  the  convention, 
be  instructed  to  report  the  following  as  an  additional  article  : 

"  §  1 .  All  feudal  tenures  of  every  description,  with  all  their 
incidents,  are  abolished. 

"  §  2.  No  lease  or  grant  of  agricultural  land  for  a  longer 
period  than  ten  years  hereafter  made,  in  which  shall  be  re- 
served any  rent  or  service  of  any  kind,  shall  be  valid. 

"  §  3.  All  covenants  or  conditions  in  any  grant  of  land 
whereby  the  right  of  the  grantee  to  alien  is  in  any  manner 
restrained,  and  all  fines,  quarter  sales,  and  other  charges  upon 
alienation  reserved,  in  every  grant  of  land  hereafter  to  be  made, 
shall  be  void." 

Messrs.  Jordan  and  Clyde,  the  former  a  whig  and  the 
latter  a  democrat,  were  the  nominees  of  the  anti-rent 


*  See  Debates  in  the  Convention  by  C.  &  S.,  p.  787. 


662  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846 

party  in  the  county  of  Columbia.  On  the  3d  of  Octo- 
I>er,  Mr.  Clyde  delivered  a  speech  in  support  of  the  prin- 
ciples contained  in  these  resolutions.  In  that  speech 
Mr.  Clyde  gives,  as  we  presume,  a  summary  of  the  views 
and  doctrines  maintained  by  the  sober  and  well-informed 
portion  of  the  anti-rent  party.  We  shall  therefore  pre- 
sent the  reader  with  an  abbreviation  of  it,  though  the 
brevity  to  which  we  are  restricted  will  by  no  means  do 
justice  to  the  speaker,  who  ceitainly  acquitted  himself  in 
a  manner  highly  creditable. 

Mr.  Clyde,  after  adverting  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
resident  of  one  of  the  counties  which  had  manifested  a 
lively  interest  in  the  fate  of  the  proposition  now  before 
the  convention,  and  which  had  been  deeply  convulsed, 
and  severely  taxed  by  consequences  growing  out  of  the 
system  which  that  proposition  was  intended  to  remove, 
said — 

"  I  am  fully  aware  that  at  the  mention  of  grievances  en- 
dured by  the  manorial  tenants,  or  rather  of  the  whole  com- 
munity in  w'hich  they  are  located,  a  sneer  of  incredulity  and 
scorn  naturally  exhibits  itself  on  many  faces.  '  What !'  asks 
an  opponent,  '  do  you  pretend  here  to  maintain  that  this  ten- 
antry is  really  aggrieved  and  wronged  ?'  Yes,  sir,  that  is  my 
position.  '  But  have  they  not  agreed  to  pay  the  rents  de- 
manded of  them  ?'  Yes,  sir ;  and  so  do  the  victims  of  usury 
agree  to  pay  the  exorbitant  interest  exacted  of  them — which 
the  state  and  the  law  say  they  shall  not  pay  ;  so  did  some  of 
the  tenantry  on  the  great  feudal  estates  of  France  agree  that 
the  chastity  of  their  daughters  should  be  among  the  'first 
fruits'  reserved  to  the  use  of  the  lord  of  the  soil. 

"  The  question  here,  however,  is  not  what  a  class  of  poor 
and  ignorant  men  of  bygone  generations  agreed  to  do,  but 
what  the  men  of  the  present  day  ought  to  do — what  the  state 
should  compel  them  in  future  to  do.  I  maintain  that  most  of 
the  rights  so  called,  of  the  landlords  of  these  manors,  origina- 


1846.]  SPEECH  OF  MB.  CLYDE.  063 

ted  in  power  and  craft,  if  not  by  fraud,  on  the  one  side,  and 
ignorance  and  simplicity  on  the  other,  and  that  they  have  now 
no  such  rightful  existence  as  should  entitle  their  holders  to 
overrule  the  just  and  true  policy  of  the  state." 

Mr.  Clyde  then  proceeded  to  point. out  the  evils  which 
perpetuating  this  system  of  tenancy  in  a  republican  gov- 
ernment necessarily  produced.  The  first  was,  "two 
radically  different  classes  in  society  :"  a  numerous  class 
subsisting  meagerly  on  a  part  of  the  proceeds  of  their 
own  labor,  and  a  smaller  and  superior  class  living  idly 
and  sumptuously  on  the  proceeds  of  the  toil  of  others. 

"This,  sir,"  said  Mr.  C.,  "  is  no  casual  difference  of  circum- 
stances that  we  are  now  considering,  but  a  fixed  and  enduring 
disparity  of  condition,  which  several  generations  have  expe- 
rienced. Who  does  not  see  that  its  direct  tendency  is  to  cre- 
ate and  perpetuate  class  distinctions  and  class  interests,  incom- 
patible with  the  pure  and  high  spirit  of  republican  freedom  ? 
And  yet  this  system,  blighting  as  it  is  to  the  interests  of  in- 
dividuals and  community,  is  sanctioned,  and  either  loudly  or 
secretly  praised,  by  some  who  boast  long  and  loud,  of  their 
democracy ! 

"  Sir,  read  one  of  these  manor  leases,  and  note  how  skil- 
fully, cunningly  devised,  appears  every  requisition  to  make  the 
tenant  class  directly  and  sensibly  the  inferiors — mere  serfs  and 
vassals,  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water.  The  restric- 
tions on  the  right  of  alienation — the  reservations  of  wood,  wa- 
ter, minerals,  mill-streams,  and  privileges — the  quarter- sale, 
the  two  fat  fowls,  and  day's  labor  drawing  manure — the  cove- 
nants requiring  the  tenant  to  go  to  the  landlord's  mill  on  pain 
of  forfeiting  his  whole  estate — also  to  trade  at  his  landlord's 
store  on  pain  of  forfeiting  his  whole  estate — and  the  thousand 
and  one  other  little,  mean,  degrading  covenants,  a  violation  of 
any  one  of  which  by  the  tenant,  works  a  forfeiture  of  the  whole 
estate." 

Mr.  Clyde  insisted  that  contracts  of  this  kind,  and  the 
holding  estates  subject  to  such  conditions,  were  incon- 


601  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

sistent  with  the  genius  of  our  government,  and  that  the 
true  policy  was  to  discountenance  them.  The  section 
he  proposed  as  a  part  of  our  constitutional  law,  was  in 
accordance  with  that  policy.  Mr.  Clyde  then  rapidly 
glanced  at  the  distressed  condition  of  the  tenantry  of 
England,  which  he  painted  in  vivid  colors. 

"  And  who,"  said  he,  "  shall  say  that  the  spectacle  now  af- 
forded by  Great  Britain  conveys  no  admonition  to  us  ?"  *  *  * 

"  Sir,  many  of  my  immediate  constituents,  and  thousands 
of  others  in  our  state,  groaning  under  the  chains  forged  by 
this  blistering  system,  are  looking  to  this  convention  for  some 
relief.  They  ask  for  nothing  that  is  wrong — they  ask  you  to 
violate  no  just  contract — to  destroy  no  vested  rights.  They 
ask  you  to  engraft  upon  the  constitution  of  your  state  the  prop- 
osition now  before  us,  which  will  prevent  this  curse  in  future, 
and  will  be  the  means  of  wearing  out  and  destroying  in  time 
the  present  existing  evil.  Shall  this  down-trodden  and  op- 
pressed people  ask  in  vain  ?  It  appears  to  me  that  every  man 
who  loves  his  country,  and  desires  the  peace  and  prosperity 
of  the  state — who  is  a  republican  in  principle  and  practice  as 
well  as  in  name,  will  rejoice  to  see  the  proposition  before  us 
adopted."  *  *  * 

"  I  would  not  have  gentlemen  on  this  floor  fall  into  the 
mistake  of  fancying  the  abuses  I  would  guard  against,  merely 
local  and  temporary  subjects  of  excitement — an  excitement 
which  a  few  more  months  will  efface,  without  applying  the 
proper  remedy.  Much,  very  much,  growing  out  of  the  ex- 
citement of  the  past  is  to  be  deeply  regretted  and  deplored, 
and  none  regret  and  deplore  it  more  than  the  great  mass  of 
tenants  ;  they  have  never  encouraged  the  violation  of  law  and 
order — they  have  never  asked  or  wished  for  any  thing  wrong 
or  unjust — they  are  honest  and  industrious,  and  feel  a  deep 
interest  in  the  prosperity  of  the  state,  and  all  they  have  ever 
asked  or  wished  for  is  just  and  equal  laws,  and  equal  rights. 
[  know,  sir,  that  by  some  who  are  directly  or  indirectly  inter- 
ested, they  are  charged  with  every  thing  that  is  wrong ;  and  I 


184(5.]  Mil.  CLYDE'S  SPEECH.  665 

also  as  well  know,  that  their  motives  have  been  impugned — 
their  principles  have  been  misrepresented,  and  they  have  been 
most  grossly  slandered  and  libelled.  But,  thank  Heaven,  a 
brighter  day  begins  to  dawn — the  wrongs  of  the  down-trodden 
and  oppressed,  and  the  principles  for  which  they  contend,  are 
better  understood,  and  the  enlightened  and  patriotic  every- 
where sympathize  with  them,  and  are  ready  to  come  to  their 
relief." 

Mr.  Clyde  concluded  his  address  in  the  following 
words  : 

"  And  now,  sir,  after  mingling,  as  I  have  done  for  months, 
with  some  of  the  most  talented,  patriotic,  and  independent 
men  of  our  state,  and  witnessing  as  I  have  done  their  perseve- 
ring and  untiring  efforts  to  frame  a  constitution  worthy  of  them- 
selves and  the  people  they  represent,  I  can  return  to  the  quiet 
of  my  home  with  the  full  consciousness  of  having  honestly  and 
faithfully,  according  to  the  best  of  my  poor  abilities,  discharged 
my  duty  to  my  constituents,  and  can  behold  in  the  new  con- 
stitution which  we  shall  have  framed  the  provisions  which  are 
now  sought  to  be  engrafted  upon  it,  the  days  of  my  retirement 
will  be  the  happiest  of  my  life,  and  to  have  contributed  in  an 
humble  degree  to  the  consummation  of  this  object,  as  much 
honor  as  I  shall  ever  desire." 

The  article  proposed  by  Mr.  Clyde,  with  a  section 
offered  by  Mr.  Simmons,  declaring  the  tenure  of  all 
estates  allodial,  was  ultimately  adopted  with  great  una- 
nimity, and  now  constitutes  a  part  of  the  constitution. 

On  the  9th  day  of  October  the  convention  terminated 
its  labors.  On  the  final  vote  on  the  whole  constitution, 
all  the  members  present  voted  in  favor  of  it,  except 
Messrs.  E.  Huntington,  O'Conor,  W.  H.  Spencer,  Stow, 
Tallmadge,  and  White. 

The  following  resolution,  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Cam- 
breling,  was  passed  unanimously  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  six  gentlemen  connected  with  the  Al- 


666  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

bany  Argus,  Albany  Atlas,  and  Albany  Evening  Journal,  as 
reporters,  viz  : — Sherman  Croswell,  Richard  Sutton,  Wm.  G. 
Bishop,  Wm.  H.  Attree,  Wm.  H.  Hill,  and  Francis  S.  Rew,  be 
entitled  to  the  thanks  of  this  convention  for  the  industry  and 
ability  with  which  they  have  discharged  their  duty  as  re- 
porters for  the  papers  to  which  they  have  been  respectively 
attached." 

The  closing  scene  of  the  convention  was  harmonious 
and  highly  interesting.  The  chair  being  occupied  by 
Mr.  Cambreling,  Mr.  Patterson  rose  and  said — 

"  He  had  a  resolution  to  offer,  which  he  trusted  would  re- 
ceive the  unanimous  vote  of  the  convention.  It  was  a  resolu- 
tion of  thanks  to  our  presiding  officer,  and  which  he  took  great 
pleasure  in  offering.  He  knew  full  well  the  arduous  and  deli- 
cate duties  of  the  chair,  and  he  could  appreciate  the  courteous 
and  impartial  manner  in  which  they  had  been  discharged.  He 
trusted  the  convention  would  adopt  the  resolution  with  a 
hearty  and  unanimous  aye  : — 

'  Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  convention  be  presented  to  the 
Hon.  JOHN  TRACY,  for  the  able,  dignified,  and  impartial  manner  in  which 
he  has  discharged  the  arduous  and  responsible  duties  of  the  chair  ;  and 
that  iii  retiring  therefrom,  he  carries  with  him  the  best  wishes  of  every 
member  of  this  convention.'  " 

The  president,  on  resuming  the  chair,  responded  to 
the  resolution  in  the  following  words : 

"  GENTLEMEN  : — It  is  highly  gratifying  to  me  to  receive,  at 
the  close  of  our  labors,  the  approbation  contained  in  the  reso- 
lution you  have  adopted  unanimously.  With  a  grateful  heart, 
I  return  you  my  sincere  thanks. 

"  To  form  a  constitution  of  civil  government  which  will  best 
secure  the  political  rights  and  permanent  welfare  of  a  free  peo- 
ple, is  a  work  of  great  magnitude  and  importance.  You  have 
devoted  yourselves  to  this  momentous  work,  and  have  dis- 
charged the  high  trust  committed  to  you,  with  great  zeal  and 
fidelity.  I  confidently  hope,  that  the  constitution  now  to  be 
submitted  to  our  constituents,  will  be  ratified  by  them,  and 


1846.]  ACTS  OF  THE  CONVENTION.  667 

that  the  people  of  this  state  will  realize  from  it  the  most  aus- 
picious results. 

"  It  gives  me  great  pleasure,  gentlemen,  to  acknowledge  my 
obligations  to  you  for  the  courtesy  and  kindness  you  have  at 
all  times  extended  to  me,  and  to  assure  you  of  my  best  wishes 
for  your  prosperity  and  happiness." 

Upon  the  close  of  this  address,  on  the  motion  of  Gen. 
Ward,  the  convention  adjourned  without  day. 

Thus  terminated  the  labors  of  the  convention  of  1846. 
The  result  of  those  labors  must  long  be  felt,  and  will 
produce  a  radical  change,  as  we  confidently  hope,  for 
the  better,  in  the  political  and  social  condition  of  this 
community.  The  alterations  made  by  this  convention 
in  the  organic  law,  are  many  and  immensely  important. 

It  declared  the  tenure  of  all  lands  to  be  allodial,  abol- 
ished all  restraints  upon  alienation,  and  prohibited  leas- 
ing lands  for  a  longer  term  than  twelve  years. 

It  abolished  the  banking  monopoly,  by  taking  from  the 
legislature  the  power  of  granting  special  charters  for 
banking  purposes,  nd  of  suspending  specie  payments. 

It  took  from  the  governor  and  senate  and  legislature, 
the  prerogative  of  appointment  to  office,  and  gave  to 
the  people,  acting  in  their  sovereign  capacity,  the  vast 
patronage  which  theretofore  had  been  wielded  by  a  cen- 
tral power. 

It  new  organized  the  judiciary,  added  greatly  to  its 
force,  while  it  diminished  the  number  of  judicial  officers, 
abolished  the  centralization  of  judicial  power,  and  made 
all  judges  dependent  directly  on  the  people  for  their  ap- 
pointment. 

It  provided  for  and  required  the  election  of  senators 
and  members  of  the  assembly  by  single  districts.  And 

It  restricted,  within  safe  and  definite  bounds,  the  power 


663  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [l84fi. 

of  the  legislature,  in  creating  state  indebtedness  without 
the  sanction  of  a  majority  of  the  people,  declared  at  the 
polls  of  our  elections ;  it  provided  sure  and  certain 
means  for  enlarging  the  grand  canal  upon  the  magnifi- 
cent plan  heretofore  projected,  and  in  part  executed,  and 
for  the  completion  of  the  canals  already  commenced  : 
and  it  also  provided  for  the  sure  and  certain  payment 
and  total  extinction  of  the  public  debt,  within  a  compar- 
atively short  and  well-defined  period. 

Good  and  great  men  have  doubted  whether  it  was 
safe  or  prudent  to  commit  the  appointment  of  all  judi- 
cial officers  to  the  people.  Experience  alone  can  decide 
whether  those  doubts  were  well  founded.  In  the  mean 
time  we  submit  to  the  candid  of  all  parties,  whether,  if 
the  thirty-six  judges  of  our  superior  courts  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  any  governor,  or  any  senate,  or  any  legisla- 
ture, no  matter  which  party  should  have  held  the  power, 
a  better  selection  would  have  been  made  than  has  been 
done  at  the  late  election  ?  Without  the  least  desire  to 
compliment  the  successful  candidates,  we  say  with  con- 
fidence that  the  response  to  this  question  would  be  a 
prompt  and  decided  negative. 

It  is  true  that  many  of  the  great  men  who  adorned 
the  convention  of  1821  did  not  form  a  component  part 
of  the  convention  of  1846.  James  Kent,  Ambrose  Spen- 
cer, Daniel  D.  Tompkins,  Rufus  King,  William  W.  Van 
Ness,  Martin  Van  Buren,  Jonas  Platt,  Abraham  Van 
Vechten,  Samuel  Young,  Ezekiel  Bacon,  Erastus  Root. 
Nathan  Williams,  John  Duer,  and  Jacob  Sutherland, 
were  not  there,  but  there  was  in  this  convention  much 
political  experience,  much  legal  learning,  and  above  all 
a  large  stock  of  prudence  and  sound  common  sense. 

The  most  remarkable  characteristic  of  the  convention 


1846.]  ABSENCE  OF  PARTY  SPIRIT.  660 

of  1846  was  the  entire  absence,  during  the  whole  of 
their  deliberations,  of  even  the  semblance  of  party  spirit, 
especially  when  it  is  considered  that  they  were  general- 
ly chosen  by  political  parties,  and,  with  few  exceptions, 
elected  by  a  strict  party  vote ;  and  that,  in  fact,  th» 
greater  part  were  really  warm  partisans.  Here  then 
was  an  assembly,  elected  in  the  manner  which  has  been 
stated,  composed  of  stanch  old  school  federalists,  drilled 
and  disciplined  hunkers,  radical  whigs,  barnburners  of 
the  "  most  straitest  sect,"  conservative  whigs,  and  zeal- 
ous and  firm  anti-renters.  That  such  an  assembly 
should,  for  more  than  four  months,  meet  daily,  and  la- 
bor, shoulder  to  shoulder,  like  a  band  of  brothers — should, 
as  it  were,  amalgamate  into  one  mass,  and  make  a  uni- 
ted effort  to  frame  a  system  of  organic  law  which  should 
best  secure  to  each  and  to  all  "life,  liberty,  prop- 
erty, and  the  pursuit  of  happiness"— was  exhibiting  to 
the  world  a  spectacle  perhaps  never  before  witnessed. 
!t  was,  if  we  may  so  speak,  a  political  miracle.  Once 
or  twice  Mr.  Chatfield  did,  indeed,  probably  without 
consideration,  and  from  momentary  impulse,  make  an 
appeal  to  party  interest  and  party  feeling,  but,  as  Mr. 
Harris  is  reported  to  have  good-humoredly  said,  he 
{Mr.  C.)  rung  the  party  rattle  in  vain.  The  spirit  of 
party  would  not  come  when  he  called  it;  and  so  far 
from  the  appeal  being  successful,  it  was,  by  Mr.  C.'s 
own  political  friends,  signally  rebuked. 

The  present  constitution  is  the  work  of  no  party,  be- 
cause it  was  made  by  all  parties,  and  therefore  is,  as  the 
organic  law  ought  to  be,  the  work  of  all  parties. 

The  articles  most  likely  to  produce  effects  on  political 
parties,  are  the  third  article,  which  directs  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  senate  and  assembly  shall  be  chosen  by 


670  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

single  districts,  and  the  fifth  and  sixth  articles,  which  di- 
rect that  the  state,  judicial,  and  county  officers  shall  be 
elected  by  the  people. 

Before  the  convention  of  1821,  all  officers,  civil  and 
military,  from  the  chancellor  down  to  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  including  all  state  officers  except  the  treasurer, 
and  also  including  the  sheriffs  and  county  clerks,  mayors 
and  recorders  of  cities,  &c.,  were  appointed  by  a  simple 
majority  of  a  board  consisting  of  five  men  only,  who 
sat  at  the  seat  of  government.  This  tremendous  power 
entered  the  log  hut  of  the  lieutenant  or  ensign  of  a 
militia  company,  or  that  of  the  country  justice  of  the 
peace,  as  well  as  the  mansion  of  the  mayor  of  New  York, 
the  secretary  of  state,  or  the  comptroller,  and  hurled 
them  from  their  places  at  its  own  sovereign  will  and 
pleasure.  The  convention  of  1821  wrested  something 
from  the  central  power ;  still,  however,  the  great  offi- 
cers of  state  were  created  at  Albany — still  the  central 
power  reached  every  county,  and  was  felt  by  every 
town  in  the  state.  The  convention  of  1846  have  wholly 
annihilated  this  terrible  power.  How  mighty  the  change! 
The  consequence  must  be  to  make  parties  what  they 
ought  to  be,  that  is,  portions  of  men  who  differ  in  opin- 
ion in  relation  to  the  measures  of  government  from  other 
portions  of  men.  So  long  as  human  beings  are  imper- 
fect, so  long  will  these  differences  exist ;  and  if  men 
are  honest  they  will  always,  in  a  free  government,  act 
in  accordance  with  their  own  views  and  opinions'. 
Hence,  among  a  free  people,  there  always  will  be,  and 
always  ought  to  be,  parties.  But  what  is  called  the  dis- 
cipline of  party,  it  seems  to  us,  must  necessarily  cease  in 
this  state.  How  can  there  be  party  discipline,  when 
there  is  no  longer  the  power  to  reward  and  punish  ? 


1846.]  THE    MEXICAN  WAK.  671 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

The  Mexican  War — Speech  of  Mr.  John  Young  on  a  resolution  to  sup- 
port the  War — Legislative  Caucus  at  the  close  of  the  session — Whig 
legislative  Caucus  and  Address — National  Reformers — The  New  Scot- 
land Convention — Democratic  State  Convention  at  Syracuse — Address 
of  the  Convention — Whig  State  Convention — Anti-rent  Convention  at 
Albany — John  Young  elected  Governor  and  Addison  Gardiner  Lieuten- 
ant-governor— Speculation  on  the  causes  of  the  defeat  of  Gov.  Wright 
— Death  and  character  of  Gen.  Root — Conclusion  of  Political  History. 

HAVING,  as  we  hope,  presented  a  clear  though  brief 
view  of  the  action  of  the  constitutional  convention,  we 
shall  now  proceed  to  attempt  to  give  some  account  of 
the  action  of  political  parties  in  the  state  from  the  time 
of  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature  in  May  to  the  gen- 
eral election  in  November. 

The  two  houses  adjourned  on  the  13th  of  May,  but 
on  the  day  previous  to  the  adjournment,  the  news  reach- 
ed Albany  of  the  commencement  of  war  between  the 
United  States  and  Mexico ;  and  but  a  few  hours  before 
the  period  fixed  by  a  joint  resolution  of  the  senate  and 
assembly  for  the  termination  of  the  session,  Mr.  Albert- 
son,  from  New  York,  offered  the  following  resolution  : 

"Be  it  resolved  by  the  legislature  of  the  state  of  New 
York,  that  the  governor  be  empowered  to  enrol  a  body  of 
fifty  thousand  men  as  volunteers,  with  a  view  to  act  in  the 
defence  of  the  state,  or  to  proceed  to  the  seat  of  war  to  de- 
feud  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  country,  and  that  the  gov- 
ernor be  hereby  authorized  at  his  discretion  to  order  the  same 
on  duty,  and  that  the  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 


672  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  appropriated  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses of  the  same." 

Mr.  Wells  supported  the  resolution  with  great  energy 
and  zeal.  Mr.  Worden  declared  himself  ready  and  de- 
sirous to  support  the  country  in  the  contest,  but  as  no 
message  had  been  received  from  the  governor  on  the 
subject,  he  doubted  whether  it  would  be  proper  to  take 
any  action  on  the  subject  without  communicating  with 
him.  He  was,  however,  willing  to  prolong  the  session 
to  afford  an  opportunity  for  such  communication. 

"  Mr.  J.  Young  said  he  would  go  for  the  resolution  as  it  is. 
He  would  have  the  opportunity  taken  to  evince  the  opinion  of 
the  legislature  of  New  York.  It  had  been  known  that  he  was 
among  those  who  had  been  opposed  to  the  annexation  of  Tex- 
as ;  but  that  was  now  a  foregone  act.  Texas  was  now  bone  of 
our  bone,  flesh  of  our  flesh  ;  and  he  who  invaded  any  portion 
of  her  soil,  invades  our  territory — invades  a  part  of  the  United 
States.  He  would  advocate  the  voting  of  funds — the  levying 
of  troops  to  protect  her  rights,  and  to  secure  her  territory 
from  invasion.  No  man  could  doubt — it  was  now  past  doubt 
that  we  were  in  a  state  of  war.  The  country  was  invaded — 
the  rights  of  our  country,  of  our  citizens,  had  been  trampled 
upon,  and  he  would  sustain  the  country  right  or  wrong." 

Mr.  Clark  seemed  to  think  the  resolution  uncalled  for 
at  that  time,  and  moved  to  lay  it  on  the  table,  but  his 
motion  was  lost,  only  12  members  voting  for  it.  Nearly 
all  the  whigs  voted  against  laying  the  resolution  on  the 
table,  among  whom  was  Mr.  Worden  as  well  as  Mr. 
Young.  The  question  was  then  taken  on  the  resolution, 
and  it  was  adopted  without  a  division. 

The  action  of  Mr.  Young,  and  a  large  majority  of  the 
whigs,  on  this  question,  indicated  a  determination  on 
their  part  not  to  make  an  issue  with  the  general  admin- 
istration on  the  war  question. 


1846.]  DEMOCRATIC  CAUCUS.  673 

The  declaration  of  Mr.  Young,  that  he  would  support 
the  war  whether  right  or  wrong,  was  supposed  to  have 
been  elicited  by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment ;  but  as 
in  his  annual  message  last  January,  he  has  referred  to 
his  declaration  on  the  occasion  to  which  we  allude,  we 
cannot  omit  remarking  that  if  that  declaration  is  to  be 
construed  in  its  broadest  sense,  its  correctness  may  well 
be  doubted.  If  Mr.  Young  meant  that  as  a  citizen  or  a 
soldier  he  would  support  the  faithful  execution  of  the 
laws  of  his  country,  he  was  right ;  but  if  he  intended  to 
declare,  that  as  a  legislator  he  would  vote  for  furnishing 
the  means  to  an  executive  to  continue  a  war  which  in 
his  conscience  he  believed  unjust  and  "  wrong,"  it  is 
respectfully  submitted  that  his  position  is  untenable.  The 
framers  of  the  constitution  were  so  jealous  of  executive 
power,  that  they  would  not  confer  on  the  president  the 
authority  to  declare  a  war ;  but  if  Mr.  Young's  propo- 
sition be  as  some  have  supposed  he  intended,  then,  ac- 
cording to  his  doctrine,  he  would  feel  bound,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  national  legislature,  to  furnish  a  corrupt  or  a 
weak  and  misguided  president  with  men  and  money  to 
continue  a  war  which  he  (Mr.  Y.)  knew  to  be  unjust 
and  ruinous.  Carry  out  this  doctrine,  and  you  place  it  in 
the  discretion  of  the  president  alone,  when  once  war  is 
declared,  to  determine  whether  that  war  shall  not  be 
endless. 

Before  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  the  demo- 
cratic members  held  a  caucus  for  the  purpose  of  agreeing 
on  an  address  to  their  constituents.  It  is  said  only  two 
of  the  hunkers  attended  this  meeting,  one  of  whom  was 
Mr.  Wells,  who  made  a  speech  against  the  proceedings. 

An  address,  however,  was  issued,  which  set  forth 
the  leading  principles  advocated  by  the  party,  and  urged 


674  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

union,  activity,  and  energy  of  action  in  the  democratic 
ranks. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  five  senators 
and  nine  members  of  the  assembly,  alleging  that  they  had 
been  selected  as  a  committee  "  by  a  portion  of  the  dem- 
ocratic members  of  the  two  branches  of  the  legisla- 
ture," issued  an  address.  It  is  remarkably  well  written, 
but  it  attacks  with  great  severity  the  radical  party  and 
the  state  officers.  It  charges  them  with  predetermined 
hostility  to  Gov.  Bouck,  and  with  secret  hostility  to  Mr. 
Polk,  and  it  charges  the  canal  board  with  refusing  to 
appoint  any  persons  to  office  who  do  not  yield  "  an  im- 
plicit adhesion  to  a  particular  faction."  Even  day- 
laborers  on  the  canal,  it  alleges,  are  compelled  to  be  sub- 
ject to  such  a  subservience  to  the  central  power.  The 
address  does  not  in  terms  attack  Gov.  Wright,  but  it 
evidently  "turns  a  cold  shoulder  towards  him."  This 
was  an  unpromising  commencement  by  the  democratic 
party  of  a  campaign  against  the  great  whig  party. 

The  abolitionists,  native  Americans,  and  anti-renters, 
all  retained  their  several  organizations.  The  former 
nominated  and  supported  their  own  candidates  for  state 
officers,  but  the  latter  adhered  to  their  policy  of  select- 
ing from  the  two  great  parties  such  candidates  as  in 
their  judgment  would  be  most  likely  to  favor  their  views. 

There  was  an  attempt  made  to  organize  still  another 
party  in  the  city  of  New  York,  known  by  the  name  of 
"NATIONAL  REFORMERS."  It  consisted  of  philosophical 
and  speculative  men,  who  established  a  weekly  news- 
paper, called  "Young  America,"  which  was  conducted 
by  Mr.  George  H.  Evans,  an  able  but  rather  visionary 
writer. 

A  friend  has  put  into  our  hands  a  few  numbers  of  this 


1846.]  NATIONAL  REFORMERS.  675 

paper,  but  we  have  not  had  leisure  to  examine  them 
with  the  care  and  attention  which  would  be  necessary 
in  order  to  present  a  correct  summary  of  all  the  prin- 
ciples which  the  editor  seems  desirous  to  maintain  and 
establish. 

The  first  proposition  of  the  reformers  is,  that  "  man 
has  a  right  to  land." 

2.  "  In  strict  justice  the  landless  ought  to  be  put  in 
immediate  possession  of  their  share  of  the  appropriated 
soil,  and  to  receive  compensation  from  the  monopolists 
for  the  loss  of  education,  property,  and  other  depriva- 
tions they  have  suffered  for  want  of  their  birthright." 
But  as  this  cannot  be  effected  as  society  is  at  present 
organized,  without  confusion  and  human  slaughter,  the 
reformers  propose  that  in  future  every  person  shall  be 
disabled  from  acquiring  more  than  his  reasonable  share 
of  the  soil,  not  to  exceed  say  160  acres  of  land.     To  ac- 
complish this  they  propose  that  on  the  death   of  any 
existing    landholder,    owning  more  than  160  acres  of 
land,  the  surplus  shall  be  sold  to  the  landless,  and  the 
purchase-money  divided  among  the  heirs  of  the  deceased 
proprietor. 

3.  That  a  home,  with  a  reasonable  quantity  of  land 
attached  to  it,  shall  be  secured  to  the  descendants  of  the 
head  of  each  family,  inalienable,  and  not  subject  to  be 
affected  by  mortgages  or  other  liens. 

4.  That  the  public   lands  should   be  surveyed   into 
townships,  and  the  townships  into  lots  of  160  acres,  ex- 
cept 640  acres  in  the  centre  of  each  township,  which 
should  be  laid  out  in  village  lots,  and  that  any  landless 
adult  citizen,  whether  male  or  female,  might  enter  on 
and  hold  one  of  these  lots,  on  payment  of  five  dollars  for 
the  expense  of  surveying  the  same. 


676  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

The  Young  America  presents  to  its  readers,  at  the 
head  of  its  editorial  department,  the  following  pledge, 
which  no  doubt  is  intended  to  contain  a  summary  of 
the  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  National  Reform  Associa- 
tion— 

"  We  whose  names  are  annexed,  desirous  of  restoring  to 
man  his  natural  right  to  land,  do  solemnly  agree,  that  we 
will  not  vote  for  any  man  for  the  presidency  or  congress  who 
will  not  pledge  himself  in  writing,  to  use  all  the  influence  of 
his  station,  if  elected,  to  prevent  all  further  traffic  in  the  pub- 
lic lands,  of  the  states  and  of  the  United  States,  and  to  cause 
them  to  be  laid  out  in  farms  and  lots  for  the  free  and  exclu- 
sive use  of  actual  settlers ;  or  for  any  man  for  the  governor- 
ship or  the  legislature,  who  will  not  so  pledge  himself  to  the 
freedom  of  the  public  lands,  to  a  limitation  of  the  quantity  of 
land  to  be  obtained  by  any  individual  hereafter  in  this  state, 
to  the  exemption  of  the  homestead  from  any  future  debt  or 
mortgage,  and  to  a  limitation  to  ten  of  the  hours  of  daily 
labor,  on  public  works  or  in  establishments  chartered  by  law." 

An  event  occurred  in  the  county  of  Albany  before  the 
adjournment  of  the  legislature,  which  served  greatly  to 
increase  the'  existing  hostility  between  the  hunkers  and 
radicals  in  that  county ;  and  as  an  account  of  it  was  im- 
mediately afterwards  published  in  nearly  all  the  country 
papers,  it  had  the  effect  of  producing  disunion  in  the 
democratic  party  in  other  parts  of  the  state. 

A  convention  was  called  at  Mr.  Clarke's,  in  New 
Scotland,  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  candidates  for 
members  of  the  constitutional  convention,  by  the  demo- 
cratic party  of  the  county  of  Albany.  This  convention 
assembled  on  the  31st  of  March,  and  was  attended  by 
many  of  the  most  respectable  citizens  of  the  city  and 
county  of  Albany.  In  organizing  the  meeting,  a  dis- 
pute arose  in  relation  to  the  appointment  of  its  officers, 


1846.]      DEMOCRATIC  STATE  CONVENTION.         677 

and  respecting  the  persons  who  were  entitled  to  seats  as 
delegates.  The  controversy  immediately  assumed  a 
boisterous  and  belligerent  character,  personal  violence 
was  committed,  and  the  hunkers  finally  withdrew  from 
the  meeting,  alleging  that  the  radicals  had  hired  reck- 
less persons  from  the  city  to  accompany  them,  with  a 
view  to  overawe  and  subdue  their  opponents  by  means 
of  physical  force.  A  protracted  and  bitter  controversy 
was  carried  on  between  the  Argus  and  Atlas  respecting 
which  party  was  the  cause  of  this  outrage.  We  do  not 
propose  to  say  any  thing  on  that  question,  but  would 
merely  remark  that  it  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  a 
breach  of  the  peace  and  personal  violence  should  have 
been  committed,  at  a  meeting  of  estimable  and  worthy 
citizens  convened  to  deliberate  on  political  subjects, 
especially  as  those  citizens  claimed  to  belong  to  the 
same  party :  that  its  effect  was  most  disastrous  to  the 
democratic  party  in  the  county,  was  proved  by  the 
elections  which  succeeded  it. 

The  democratic  state  convention  was  held  at  Syra- 
cuse on  the  first  day  of  October.  The  radicals  and 
hunkers  had  each  made  efforts  to  obtain  a  majority  of  the 
delegates.  The  former,  however,  were  most  successful 
in  that  contest,  and  nearly  two  radicals  to  one  hunker 
were  chosen.  From  the  counties  of  Oneida  and  Albany, 
a  double  set  of  delegates  were  sent  to  Syracuse.  From 
the  county  of  Albany,  John  Van  Buren  and  three  other 
radicals  appeared  and  claimed  their  seats,  and  Rufus  W. 
Peckham  and  three  other  hunkers  claimed  adversely  t< 
Mr.  Van  Buren  and  his  friends.  From  the  county  of 
Oneida,  Horatio  Seymour  and  three  other  hunkere 
claimed  seats,  which  were  contested  by  Ward  Hunt, 
and  three  other  radicals. 


tf78  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NK\V  YORK.  [1816. 

The  convention  decided  in  favor  of  the  claims  of  Mr. 
Seymour  and  his  colleagues  without  much  discussion ; 
but  the  right  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  his  friends  to  seats 
was  elaborately  discussed.  Much  ardor  was  exhibited, 
.ind  very  sharp  passages  occurred  between  some  of  the 
members.  Eventually,  the  right  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  and 
his  colleagues  was  confirmed  by  a  vote  of  74  to  44. 
The  result  of  this  vote  probably  shows  the  comparative 
strength  of  the  two  parties  in  the  convention,  although  it 
is  true  that  Mr.  Flanders,  who  had  been  chosen  as  a  radi- 
cal, and  who  professed  to  belong  to  that  party,  advoca- 
ted and  voted  in  favor  of  the  claim  of  Mr.  Peckham  and 
his  associates. 

The  convention  was  then  regularly  organized  by  the 
appointment  of  Chester  Loomis,  a  late  senator  from  the 
county  of  Ontario,  for  president,  and  E.  F.  Purdy,  of 
New  York,  and  seven  others,  vice-presidents.  On  bal- 
loting for  a  candidate  for  governor,  Silas  Wright  had 
112  votes,  Amasa  J.  Parker  7,  and  Heman  J.  Red- 
field  6. 

On  the  motion  of  Mr.  Seymour,  Mr.  Wright's  nomi- 
nation was  declared  to  be  unanimous. 

Addison  Gardiner  immediately  afterwards  was  unani- 
mously nominated  lieutenant-governor.  Several  ballot- 
ings  were  then  had  for  canal  commissioners,  but  event- 
ually Cornelius  L.  Allen,  of  Washington  county,  and 
John  T.  Hudson,  of  Erie  county,  were  declared  duly 
nominated. 

A  very  able  and  lengthy  address  was  read  to  the  con- 
vention, in  which  the  arrangement  with  Great  Britain 
respecting  the  Oregon  territory  was  considered  and  ap- 
proved, the  re-enactment  of  the  independent  treasury 
law  by  congress  highly  commended,  the  late  tariff  and 


1846.]  DEMOCRATIC    AUURKiiS.  679 

warehouse  acts  examined  and  approved ;  the  Mexican 
war  was  alluded  to,  and  a  desire  expressed  for  a  speedy 
and  honorable  peace  ;  the  constitution  framed  by  the 
late  convention  was  commended,  and  the  prominent 
alterations  it  proposed  of  the  constitution  of  1821,  such 
as  those  relating  to  the  executive  and  legislative  depart- 
ments, administrative  officers,  judicial  department,  and 
our  financial  system,  were  set  forth  with  great  clearness 
and  ability. 

The  address  concludes  with  a  handsome  eulogy  on 
the  candidates  recommended  by  the  convention.  As 
respects  Mr.  Wright,  it  says  : 

"  At  the  last  gubernatorial  election,  the  political  condition 
of  the  state  and  of  the  Union  demanded  from  the  republicans: 
of  New  York  an  effort  worthy  of  their  cause  and  of  themselves. 
A  presidential  election  was,  as  was  generally  believed,  and  as 
the  result  proved,  to  be  determined  by  the  vote  of  this  state, 
and  it  thus  became  the  battle-ground  of  the  Union.  Our 
brethren  throughout  the  United  States  united  with  us  in  an 
anxious  solicitude  that  in  such  a  contest,  which  was  to  deter- 
mine the  policy  of  the  government  perhaps  forever,  in  regard 
to  important  if  not  vital  measures  which  had  divided  parties 
almost  since  their  formation,  and  which  was  to  restore,  or  post- 
pone indefinitely,  democratic  ascendency,  a  leader  might  be 
selected  in  this  state,  the  strength  of  whose  public  and  private 
character  would  furnish  to  them,  as  well  as  to  ourselves,  a  cer- 
tain promise  of  victory. 

"  Such  a  man  was  SILAS  WRIGHT  ;  and  an  almost  universal 
public  expression  indicated  him  as  the  standard-bearer  of  the 
republicans  of  this  state  in  that  great  and  decisive  struggle  be- 
tween democracy  and  federalism.  The  Syracuse  Convention 
responded  to  this  general  desire,  by  putting  him  in  nomination 
for  governor,  and  he  surrendered  his  well-known  and  publicly 
declared  disinclination  to  accept  the  office,  to  the  ardent  wishes 
of  the  friends  of  the  cause. 

"  The  stern  fidelity  with  which  he  has  upheld  the  financial 


680  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YOKK.  [1846. 

policy  that  redeemed  the  credit  and  character  of  the  state,  his 
fearless  vindication  of  the  majesty  of  the  law,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  merciful  dispensation  of  its  justice,  his  careful  and  un- 
wearied attention  to  the  varied  and  responsible  duties  of  his 
office,  and  his  integrity,  ability,  and  impartiality  in  their  dis- 
charge, have  given  to  New  York  a  high  rank  among  her  sister 
states,  and  have  furnished  new  and  additional  reasons  to  her 
citizens  for  1'equiring  the  continued  services  of  her  distinguish- 
ed chief^magistrate. 

"  The  increased  and  singular  unanimity  in  his  favor  mani- 
fested by  the  convention  which  nominated  SILAS  WRIGHT,  is 
an  honest  reflection  of  the  democratic  will,  and  a  well-earned 
tribute  to  the  fairness,  prudence,  wisdom,  and  ability  with 
which  the  just  expectations  of  the  democrats  of  the  state  have 
been  met  and  fulfilled — and  we  again,  with  unhesitating  con- 
fidence, commit  him  to  the  hands  of  a  people  whose  pleasure 
and  pride  it  ever  has  been  to  cherish,  defend,  and  sustain 
him." 

The  members  of  the  convention  seemed  to  separate 
in  good  spirits,  and  with  feelings  of  cordiality  towards 
each  other. 

We  have  before  stated  that  there  were  two  parties 
among  the  whigs,  one  of  which,  for  convenience,  we 
named  radical,  and  the  other  conservative.  But  the 
movements  of  the  whigs  are  to  us  involved  in  so  much 
obscurity,  that  we  cannot  speak  with  much  certainty  of 
those  divisions.  They  are  probably  less  publicly  known 
and  less  marked,  though  they  in  fact  exist,  for  the  reason 
that  the  whigs  are  not  so  regularly  organized  as  the 
democrats  have  been,  and  because,  for  several  years 
past,  they  have,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  been  in 
the  minority.  That,  however,  such  men  as  Gov.  Sew- 
ard,  Thurlow  Weed,  and  many  others  acting  with  them, 
entertain  views  in  relation  to  both  men  and  measures 
different  from  Millard  Fillmore,  John  A.  Collier,  the 


1846.]  WHIG  STATE  CONVENTION.  681 

present  lieutenant-governor,  Fish,  &c.,  we  have  no  man- 
ner of  doubt.  The  Evening  Journal,  the  Tribune,  and 
various  other  whig  papers  which  follow  their  lead,  are 
the  organs  of  the  former  ;  while  the  Express,  the  New 
York  Courier  and  Enquirer,  the  Oneida  Whig,  the  Buffa- 
lo Commercial  Advertiser,  &c.,  express  the  views  of  the 
latter.  The  former  look  with  more  favor  on  adoptee 
citizens,  and  changes  in  our  system  of  government  and 
laws,  especially  those  which' seem  to  be  called  for  by 
popular  opinion,  than  the  latter.  Probably  the  conser- 
vative whigs  possess  the  most  wealth,  but  the  radicals 
far  the  most  activity  and  energy.  Our  own  impression 
is,  that  Mr.  John  Young  occupies  a  position  between 
those  two  sections.  How  long  he  will  be  able  to  main- 
tain his  "juste  milieu"  position,  time  only  will  dis- 
close. 

The  whig  convention  was  held  at  Utica,  on  the  23d 
day  of  September.  It  was  conducted  with  great  energy 
and  spirit,  though  its  proceedings  exhibit  very  clearly 
the  lines  of  division  between  the  conservative  and  radi- 
cal whigs. 

PHILIP  HONE,  a  worthy  and  much  esteemed  citizen  of 
New  York,  and  formerly  mayor  of  that  city,  was  chosen 
president.  The  members  first  informally  balloted  for  a 
candidate  for  governor,  with  the  following  result.  On 
the  first  ballot  Millard  Fillmore  received  55  votes,  John 
Young  3G,  Ira  Harris  21,  William  Duer3,  John  A.  Col- 
lin  2,  blank  2.  A  second  ballot  was  then  had,  which 
also  resulted  without  any  candidate  receiving  a  ma- 
jority of  all  the  votes ;  but  on  the  third  ballot  Mr.  Young 
received  76  votes,  and  Mr.  Fillmore  45.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  but  that  nearly,  if  not  all  the  votes  which  or. 
the  first  ballot  were  given  to  Mr.  Harris,  were  on  the 


682  POLITICAL  HISTOKY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

third  ballot  given  to  Mr.  Young,  and  produced  his  nomi- 
nation. 

After  the  informal  balloting  Mr.  Babcock,  of  Erie 
county,  informed  the  convention  that  the  name  of  Mr. 
Fillmore  had  been  used  against  his  expressed  wishes,  and 
that  the  delegates  from  Erie  county  had  consented  to 
its  use  on  the  informal  ballot,  in  compliance  with  the 
earnest  solicitation  of  delegates  from  other  counties. 
From  all  these  circumstances,  we  infer  that  the  forty- 
five  votes  given  for  Mr.  Fillmore  on  the  last  ballot  were 
given  by  conservative  whigs.  Mr.  Young  was,  of 
course,  nominated  for  governor,  and  on  the  motion  of 
Mr.  Christopher  Morgan,  Mr.  Hamilton  Fish  was  unan- 
imously nominated  lieutenant-governor.  Charles  Cooke, 
of  Chemung,  and  Thomas  Clowes,  of  Rensselaer,  were 
designated  as  candidates  for  canal  commissioners.  Two 
or  three  resolutions,  and  a  brief  address  to  the  people, 
were  adopted  and  published. 

The  convention,  after  the  delivery  of  several  eloquent 
speeches,  adjourned  in  great  harmony.  Among  those 
who  addressed  the  convention  were  the  president,  (Mr. 
Hone,)  Mr.  Morgan,  of  Auburn,  Mr.  Thayer,  of  New 
York,  and  Mr.  Dawson,  of  Albany. 

The  liberty  party,  at  an  early  day,  made  their  nomi- 
nation for  state  officers.  Mr.  Stewart  having  declined 
a  renomination,  they  nominated  HENRY  BRADLEY  for 
governor,  and  WILLIAM  L.  CHAPLIN  for  lieutenant-gov- 
ernor, and  James  Sperry  and  John  Thomas  for  canal 
commissioners. 

The  Native  Americans  also  took  the  field,  and  put  in 
nomination  Ogden  Edwards  as  their  candidate  for  gov- 
ernor. Mr.  Edwards  has  been  several  times  mentioned, 
in  the  preceding  volumes  of  this  work,  as  a  distinguished 


1846.]  ANTI-RENT  CONVENTION.  683 

member  of  the  legislature  and  of  the  convention  of  1821, 
and  as  having  for  a  long  time  held  the  office  of  circuit 
judge  of  the  first  circuit.  Judge  Edwards,  in  his  letter 
accepting  the  nomination,  reviews  the  action  of  political 
parties  in  this  state,  and  animadverts  with  some  severity 
on  the  conduct  of  both  the  great  parties. 

At  a  convention  held  at  Beardsley's  hotel,  in  Albany, 
in  the  month  of  October,  by  the  anti-renters,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  state  officers,  they  resolved  to  support  John 
Young  for  governor,  and  Addison  Gardiner  for  lieutenant- 
governor.  Mr.  Evans  attended  this  convention  in  be- 
half of  the  national  reformers.  A  committee  of  that 
party  had  addressed  letters  to  the  whig,  democratic,  and 
liberty  party  candidates  for  governor,  inquiring  of  them, 
respectively,  whether  they  were  for  or  against  the  lead- 
ing doctrines  of  the  reform  party.  To  those  letters 
Gov.  Wright  and  Mr.  Young  had  either  returned  no  an- 
swers, or  answers  which  were  not  satisfactory  ;  but  Mr. 
Bradley  and  Mr.  Chaplin,  the  liberty  party  candidates, 
had  made  answers  which  met  the  approbation  of  Mr. 
Evans  and  his  friends.  Mr.  Evans,  therefore,  was  for 
nominating  Mr.  Bradley,  or  for  repudiating  all  the  can- 
didates then  before  the  public,  and  making  an  indepen- 
dent nomination.  Several  of  the  anti-renters  (and  it  is 
presumed  these  were  democratic  anti-renters)  were  in 
favor  of  nominating  a  new  candidate,  but  Mr.  Wm.  B. 
Wright,  a  member  from  Sullivan  county,  earnestly  urged, 
in  an  elaborate  speech,  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Young : 
among  other  things,  he  affirmed  that  if  Mr.  Young 
was  elected,  he  would  pardon  the  anti-rent  convicts. 
From  the  ballots  given  at  this  convention,  the  number 
of  those  who  took  part  in  its  proceedings  must  have 
been  small.  A  correspondent  of  the  Young  America 


684  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YOBK.  [1846. 

states  that  the  result  of  the  balloting  was  20  votes  for 
John  Young,  7  for  Benton  A.  Thomas,  and  3  for  Henry 
Bradley. 

It  is  said  that  efforts  were  made  by  many  of  the  dem- 
ocratic anti-renters  to  nominate  Mr.  Wright  instead  of 
Mr.  Young,  and  that  he  was  earnestly  pressed  by  some 
of  them  to  give  some  assurances  that  he  would,  at  an 
early  period,  pardon  those  who  had  been  convicted  in 
Delaware  and  Columbia  counties,  and  that  he  declined 
to  make  any  intimations  as  to  what  his  future  action  on 
that  subject  would  be.  For  this  reason,  it  is  further  as- 
serted, the  democratic  anti-renters  were  compelled  u> 
give  him  up.  That  something  of  this  kind  did  take  place 
we  have  little  doubt ;  nor  do  we  doubt  but  that  some  of 
the  radical  friends  of  Gov.  Wright  made  efforts  to  in- 
duce the  anti-renters  to  nominate  him.  But  the  anti- 
rent  convention  was  held  in  Albany,  where  Mr.  Ira 
Harris  then  resided.  He  enjoyed  the  full  confidence  of 
the  members  of  the  convention,  and  was  an  avowed 
friend  of  Mr.  Young.  Is  it  not  reasonable  to  presume 
that  his  opinion,  together  with  that  of  Mr.  W.  B.  Wright, 
had  a  controlling  effect  in  the  selection  of  a  gubernato- 
rial candidate  by  the  convention,  which  was  mainly 
composed  of  farmers  and  workingmen  from  the  country  ? 
It  has  also  been  stated,  in  several  public  newspapers, 
that  Judge  Harris  had  in  his  possession  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Young,  which  at  that  time,  or  at  a  subsequent  pe- 
riod before  the  election,  he  exhibited,  in  which  Mr. 
Young  expressed  an  opinion  that  those  convicts  ought 
to  be  pardoned,  and  that  if  elected  he  would  pardon 
them.  We  do  not  know  that  such  was  the  fact,  but,  as 
we  have  just  remarked,  it  was  so  charged  in  severa! 
newspapers,  and  never  to  our  knowledge  denied,  either 


• 

. 


1846.]  THE  LIBERTY  PARTY.  687 

ance-power,  elected  a  lieutenant-governor,  at  least  one 
canal  commissioner,  one  senator,  and  ten  or  twelve 
members  of  the  assembly.* 

The  abolition  party,  in  proportion  to  its  numbers,  as 
we  have  before  remarked,  contains  more  wealth  and 
talent,  and,  we  may  add,  more  individual  integrity  and 
virtue,  than  any  other  political  party  in  the  state ;  and 
yet  they  are  few  in  number,  and  that  number  seems 
to  be  decreasing.  Whence  is  this  ?  It  cannot  be  ow- 
ing to  hostility  to  their  "  one  idea" — their  great  and  par- 
amount principle  of  opposition  to  human  slavery — for 
there  are  thousands  and  perhaps  hundreds  of  thousands 
in  the  state  who  in  that  respect  entirely  concur  with 
them.  If  it  is  allowable  so  to  speak,  they  are  too  hon- 
est and  conscientious  to  extend  their  numbers  as  a  polit- 
ical party.  Their  very  honesty  renders  them  proscrip- 
tive.  They  appear  to  have  adopted  as  a  part  ,of  their 
political  ethics,  the  maxim  of  scripture  in  regard  to  the 
observance  of  the  moral  law — that  to  offend  in  one 
point,  is  to  be  guilty  of  a  breach  of  the  whole  law. 
Hence  some  of  their  papers  have  denounced  such  men 
as  John  Quincy  Adams,  Giddings,  and  Slade,  and  there 
are  those  among  them  who  denounce  John  P.  Hale.  A 
remarkable  instance  of  the  extreme  tenacity  with  which 
they  adhere  to  their  abstract  principles,  was  exhibited 
in  their  conduct  in  relation  to  the  election  of  delegates 
in  the  spring  of  1846  to  the  constitutional  convention. 
It  was  conceded  that  only  one  question  could  come  be- 
fore the  convention  in  which  they  as  abolitionists  felt 
any  interest,  and  that  was,  whether  an  equal  right  of 


*  They  have  recently  caused  the  election  of  two,  and  probably  three  of 
the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  it  may  be  of  an  attorney  -general. 


688  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OP  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

suffrage  should  be  extended  to  colored  citizens  ?  It  was 
further  admitted,  that  there  was  not  a  single  county  in 
the  state  that  could  by  possibility  elect  an  abolitionist  as 
an  abolitionist.  It  was  also  well  known  that  candidates 
were  or  would  be  in  nomination  in  probably  a  large  ma- 
jority of  the  counties  in  the  state,  by  the  whig  and  dem- 
ocratic parties,  some  of  whom  held  opinions  favorable, 
and  some  adverse  to  the  equalization  of  the  right  of  suf- 
frage ;  and  that  in  several  of  those  counties  the  aboli- 
tionists might  have  selected  candidates  from  the  two 
great  parties,  and  caused  their  election,  who,  if  elected, 
would  carry  into  effect  in  the  convention  the  views  of 
the  liberty  party  on  that  subject.  In  this  condition  of 
things  the  sagacious  and  judicious  Westley  Bailey,  ed- 
itor of  the  Liberty  Press  at  Utica,  recommended  to  his 
friends  the  course  last  suggested.  This  simple  sugges- 
tion produced  instantaneous  excitement  among  many  of 
the  abolitionists.  A  convention  was  called,  which  as- 
sembled at  Winfield,  in  Herkimer  county,  and  Mr.  Gerrit 
Smith,  one  of  the  most  kind-hearted,  liberal,  and  benev- 
olent men  of  the  age,  attended  the  meeting,  and  for  hours 
addressed  the  audience  in  an  eloquent  and  fervent  speech, 
in  which  he  urged  that  the  party  was  pledged  not  to  vote 
for  a  slaveholder,  nor  any  man  who  would  vote  for  a 
slaveholder,  and  solemnly  adjured  them,  on  that  occa- 
sion, not  to  violate  that  pledge.  A  large  majority  of  the 
convention  adopted  his  views.  The  liberty  party  are 
desirous,  sincerely  and  anxiously  desirous,  that  the  slave 
should  be  liberated,  but  they  will  allow  none  but  them- 
selves to  break  his  chain  and  open  his  prison-door. 

The  Native  American  ticket  received  but  few  votes. 

The  contest  between  the  two  great  parties  terminated 
in  the  election  of  Mr.  Young  by  a  majority  of  11,572 


1846.]  RESULT  OF  THE  ELECTION.  689 

votes  over  Mr.  Wright,  and  the  election  of  Mr.  Gardi- 
ner over  Mr.  Fish  by  a  majority  of  13,357.  Thomas 
Clowes,  one  of  the  whig  candidates  for  canal  commis- 
sioner, was  elected  over  Mr.  Allen  by  7,255  votes,  and 
John  T.  Hudson,  one  of  the  democratic  candidates  for 
the  same  office,  was  elected  over  Mr.  Cooke,  the  candi- 
date of  the  whig  party,  by  a  majority  of  13,366  votes. 
Messrs.  Young,  Gardiner,  Hudson,  and  Clowes  were  the 
nominees  of  the  anti-rent  state  convention. 

Mr.  Clowes  has  long  been  known  as  an  active  and 
energetic  politician.  He  had,  during  the  administration 
of  Gov.  Seward,  been  appointed  canal  appraiser,  and 
well  and  faithfully  discharged  the  duties  of  that  impor- 
tant office.  His  election,  therefore,  to  the  office  of  ca- 
nal commissioner,  was  hailed  by  his  friends  and  ac- 
quaintance as  an  auspicious  event ;  but  he  unfortunately 
gained  nothing  by  his  election.  During  the  bustle  of 
preparation  for  the  election,  it  seems  it  did  not  occur  to 
the  members  of  either  of  the  state  conventions,  that  un- 
der the  new  constitution  there  could  be  no  vacancy  in 
the  office  of  canal  commissioners,  except  by  death  or 
resignation,  until  January,  1848  ;  for  that  constitution 
provided  that  the  terms  of  office  of  the  commissioners 
should  not  expire  until  the  1st  day  of  February,  1847; 
and  that  those  in  office  on  the  1st  day  of  January  then 
next,  should  hold  their  office  until  others  were  subse- 
quently elected  in  their  stead.  But  the  death  of  Mr. 
Earl  left  one  vacancy  in  the  board  of  commissioners, 
and  to  fill  that  vacancy,  Gov.  Wright  appointed  his  po- 
litical friend,  Mr.  John  T.  Hudson. 

The  whigs  also  succeeded  in  electing  five  senators 
out  of  the  eight  which  were  chosen  at  that  election. 
There  were  returned  elected  to  the  assembly,  68  whigs, 
44 


690  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

50  democrats,  and  10  anti-rent  members.  Of  the  mem- 
bers of  congress  the  whigs  elected  23,  and  the  demo- 
crats 11,  by  an  aggregate  majority  of  the  popular  vote 
in  the  state  of  21,051.  The  majority  in  favor  of  the 
new  constitution  was  about  130,000.  The  returns  ex- 
hibited the  following  curious  results  : 

The  aggregate  electoral  vote  in  the  state  was  in  1846 
about  90,000  less  than  in  1844.  Mr.  Wright's  vote  in 
'46  was  about  54,000  less  than  in  '44.  Mr.  Gardiner's 
vote  exceeded  that  of  Mr.  Young  about  24,000  ;  and 
Mr.  Fish's  aggregate  vote  was  about  500  more  than 
Gov.  Wright's.  In  the  county  of  Albany  Mr.  Young's 
majority  over  Mr.  Wright  was  2,818  ;  in  Delaware 
county  it  was  1,802.  In  1844,  Mr.  Fillmore's  majority 
in  Albany  county  over  Mr.  Wright  was  25  votes  only  ; 
and  in  the  county  of  Delaware  Mr.  Wright's  majority 
over  Mr.  Fillmore  was  975.  In  the  city  of  New  York, 
in  1844,  Mr.  Wright's  majority  was  3,340  ;  but  in  1846 
it  was  5,180.  In  the  county  of  Oneida,  where  no  anti- 
rent  party  at  any  time  existed,  Gov.  Wright,  in  1844, 
obtained  a  majority  of  821  over  Mr.  Fillmore  ;  and  in 
1846  Mr.  Young's  majority  over  Mr.  Wright,  in  the 
same  county,  was  1,337  votes  ! 

Here,  according  to  the  plan  we  had  marked  out,  our 
political  history  closes  ;  but  we  shall  take  leave  to  add 
some  observations  on  the  probable  causes  of  the  result 
of  the  election  in  November,  1846,  and  particularly  of 
the  defeat  of  Gov.  Wright.  We  say,  then,  his  re-election 
was  not  prevented  by  any  of  the  following  causes  : 

1.  Gov.  Young  was  not  elected  because  there  was  a 
legitimate  whig  majority  in  the  state.  No  question  re- 
specting state  or  national  measures  had  agitated  the 


1846.]  CAUSES  OF  MR.   WEIGHT'S  DEFEAT.  691 

public  mind,  about  which  men  differed  in  opinion,  since 
the  election  of  1845.  It  is  true,  a  war  with  Mexico  had 
been  declared,  but  all  parties,  except  the  abolitionists, 
were  anxious  to  manifest  their  zeal  in  favor  of  the  vig- 
orous prosecution  of  the  war. 

2.  It  is  doubted  whether,  in  a  single  instance,  any  in- 
dividual of  standing  and  character,  between  November, 
'45,  and  November,  '46,  changed  his  opinion  on  any  im- 
portant political  question.     Certainly  no  such  change 
was  publicly  avowed. 

3.  The  vote  of  the  electors  of  the  state  in  1845,  and 
when  the  delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention  were 
chosen  so  late  as  May,  1846,  exhibited  a  clear  and  deci- 
ded democratic  majority  in  the  state :  and  the  votes  for 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  which  were  given  only 
about  seven  months  after  the  November  election  of  1846,: 
also  proved  that  at  that  time  there  was  a  large  demo-' 
cratic  majority  in  the  state  ;  for  not  one  word  was  ut- 
tered, and  not  one  word  could  have  been  uttered,  by  any 
man  who  had  a  decent  regard  for  his  reputation,  against 
the  ability,  integrity,  and  personal  fitness  of  the  whig 
candidates  for  judges. 

4.  It  was  not  caused  by  personal  hostility,  or  the  per- 
sonal unpopularity  of  Gov.  Wright.     His  great  talents" 
were  universally  admitted.     His  frank  and  easy  deport- 
ment, and  his  kind  and  social  nature,  rendered  him  uni- 
versally esteemed  and  beloved.     "  He  bore  his  faculties 
so  meek,  and  had  been  so  clear  in  his  great  office,"  that 
we  do  not  believe  the  man  then  lived,  or  now  lives,  who 
would  then,  or  will  now,  declare  himself  personally  un- 
friendly to  him. 

What,  then,  was  the  cause  of  Governor  Wright's  de- 
feat? 


692  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

Shortly  after  the  result  of  the  election  was  known, 
a  series  of  five  consecutive  numbers  appeared  in  the 
Albany  Atlas,  written  with  great  ability,  entitled,  "  The 
result  of  the  New  York  state  election,  its  causes  and 
consequences."  The  author  has  evidently  been  long 
familiar  with  the  politics  of  this  state,  and  reviews  the 
action  and  motives  of  action  of  political  parties  and  the 
fragments  of  parties  for  many  years  past,  with  apparent 
candor. 

The  first  cause  of  the  result  which  the  writer  men- 
tions, is  the  vote  of  the  anti-renters.  He  arrives  at  the 
amount  of  this  vote  by  the  case  of  Messrs.  Clowes  and 
Allen.  These  gentlemen,  he  says,  were  both  unexcep- 
tionable men, — neither  possessed  more  than  ordinary 
personal  popularity,  and  both  received  the  fair  and  le- 
gitimate vote  of  the  parties  to  which  they  respectively 
belonged  ;  but  Mr.  Clowes  received  the  anti-rent  vote, 
and  his  majority  over  Mr.  Allen  was  7,255.  He  then 
shows  that  the  difference  in  the  vote  for  Mr.  Wright 
between  the  years  1844  and  1846,  in  the  city  of  Albany 
and  in  the  counties  of  Allegany,  Oneida,  Onondaga, 
Chenango,  Lewis,  Cayuga,  Herkimer,  Chemung,  and 
Steuben,  where  no  anti-rentism  prevailed,  was  more 
than  sufficient  to  overcome  the  majority  given  to  Mr. 
Clowes ;  and  hence  he  concludes  that  the  anti-rent  vote 
was  "  a  cause,"  but  not  the  cause  of  the  defeat. 

The  writer  then  proceeds  to  assign,  as  another  cause, 
the  veto  of  the  canal  bill  by  Gov.  Wright ;  and  he  con- 
cedes that  the  majorities  in  favor  of  Mr.  Young  in  the 
counties  of  Lewis,  Oneida,  Allegany,  &c.,  may  have 
been  in  part  occasioned  by  that  veto.  But  Mr.  Wright's 
opinions  on  the  subject  of  expenditures  for  internal  im- 
provements and,the  creation  of  state  debts,  were  clearly 


1840.]      CAUSES  OF  MR.  WRIGHT'g  DEFEAT.         693 

and  distinctly  stated  as  long  ago  as  the  year  1827,  in  his 
report  on  the  petition  of  David  E.  Evans  and  others.* 
And  again  :  it  was  well  known,  in  1844,  to  every  man  of 
common  intelligence  in  the  state,  that  he  had  not  changed 
those  opinions.  It  may  be  added,  that  it  is  most  obvious 
that  the  veto  message  was  a  mere  reiteration  of  them. 
We  think,  therefore,  that  the  author  of  "  causes  and  con- 
sequences' was  right  in  his  conclusion,  that  the  reto  of 
the  canal  bill  was  "  a  cause,"  but  not  "  the  cause"  of  the 
loss  of  Mr.  Wright's  election. 

The  writer  then  proceeds  to  assign  as  "  the  cause"  of 
Mr.  Wright's  failure,  the  opposition  of  the  hunkers, 
which  he  calls  the  "  conservative  party."  He  traces 
back  the  history  of  this  party  to  the  year  1827  :  he 
claims  that  they  were  the  party  who  were  most  pressing 
for  the  chartering  of  banks  ;  who  were  generally  inter- 
ested in  the  stocks  which  from  time  to  time  were  crea- 
ted ;  who  were  many  of  them  deeply  interested  in  locali- 
ties to  be  affected  by  proposed  canals  or  railroads,  and 
were  therefore  favorable  to  most  of  the  projected  inter- 
nal improvements  ;  who  were  interested  in  keeping  in 
the  market  a  large  amount  of  state  stocks,  and  therefore 
desirous  of  increasing  the  public  debt ;  and  finally,  that 
the  hunkers  represented  a  union  of  all  these  interests, 
which  were,  of  course,  opposed  to  the  restrictive  policy 
of  Gov.  Wright.  The  author  concludes  by  affirming, 
that  "this  conservative  party,  thus  bound  together  ex- 
clusively by  selfish  interests,  and  seeking  only  personal 
advancement  and  personal  gain,  was  the  cause  of  the  de- 
feat of  Gov.  Wright,  and  of  the  democratic  party  in  this 
state,  at  the  late  election." 

\ : — 

*  See  supra. 


694  POLITICAL  HISTOUY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

He  then  proceeds  to  charge  Mr.  Edwin  Croswell 
with  being  the  principal  and  most  efficient  member  of 
this  association,  and  that  the  course  of  the  Argus  pre- 
vious to  the  election  furnished  powerful  means  for 
carrying  into  effect  their  views. 

That  the  collisions  between  the  hunkers  and  radicals 
in  the  legislature,  and  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  most 
radical  state  officers,  with  whom  the  hunkers  knew  the 
governor  coincided  in  principle,  and  with  whom  they 
suspected  he  sympathized  in  feeling,  coupled  with  the 
defeat  of  the  renomination  of  Gov.  Bouck,  in  1844,  pro- 
duced a  coldness  on  their  part  towards  Gov.  Wright, 
which  at  the  election  deadened  the  energy  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  democratic  party  in  many  counties  in  the 
state,  cannot  be  doubted.  It  is  also  true  that  the  Ar- 
gus, the  oldest,  and  certainly  in  former  days  the  most 
influential  and  most  extensively  circulated  democratic 
paper  in  the  state,  although  it  placed  at  the  head  of  its 
columns  the  state  democratic  nomination,  to  use  its  own 
significant  expression,  turned  a  cold  shoulder  to  Gov. 
Wright.  It  is  not  our  business,  nor  do  we  intend  to 
express  an  opinion,  whether  the  hunkers  had  or  had  not 
g.ood  cause  for  this  course.  Of  that  every  reader  will  of 
course  judge  for  himself,  after  recalling  to  his  recollec- 
tion their  political  position,  and  what  since  the  year 
1842  had  taken  place  between  them  and  their  opponents 
in  the  democratic  party.  All  we  mean  to  say  is,  that 
we  believe  that,  with  now  and  then  a  very  rare  excep- 
tion, the  leading  and  prominent  hunkers  themselves 
voted  for  Mr.  Wright ;  but  that  the  coldness  of  so  many 
highly  respectable  and  influential  men  as  composed  the 
body  of  the  hunkers,  scattered  as  they  were  over  the 
state,  from  Long  Island  to  Buffalo,  must  have  discouraged 


1846.]  CAUSES  OF  MR.   WRIGHT's  DEFEAT.  695 

many  of  their  democratic  friends,  repressed  their  ardor 
in  the  cause,  and  induced  some  of  them  to  yield  to  the 
persuasion  of  the  whigs  to  vote  at  that  time  their  ticket, 
and  others  to  remain  at  home  and  decline  voting. 
Hence  we  see  that  the  number  of  votes  cast  for  Gov. 
Wright  was  54,000  less  than  the  number  he  received  at 
the  preceding  election,  and  yet  Mr.  Young's  majority 
was  less  than  12,000.  The  whig  vote,  when  compared 
with  their  vote  in  1844,  was  diminished  less  than  39,000. 
We  therefore  agree  with  the  author  of  "Causes  and 
Consequences,"  that  the  anti-rent  vote,  the  canal  veto, 
the  course  of  the  editor  of  the  Albany  Argus,  and  the 
hunker  party,  were,  we  should  prefer  to  say,  among  the 
causes  of  the  defeat  of  Gov.  Wright.  We  say  among 
the  causes,  for  we  believe  there  was  still  another  cause, 
not  mentioned  by  our  author,  and  that  was  the  action  or 
supposed  action  of  the  general  government. 

Whether  the  president  or  any  of  his  secretaries  coun- 
tenanced the  hunkers  in  their  indisposition  to  support 
Mr.  Wright,  we  do  not  know.  We  are  nevertheless 
inclined  to  believe  that  they  never  at  any  time  made 
any  express  declaration  of  a  wish  that  his  election  should 
be  defeated.  But  that  a  very  general  impression  pre- 
vailed, that  the  hunkers  were  especial  favorites  at 
Washington,  we  know  to  be  the  fact.  How  could  it  be 
otherwise?  Gov.  Marcy,  who  had  been  placed  at  the  head 
of  one  of  the  most  important  departments,  and  which, 
particularly  in  time  of  war,  held  within  its  power  an 
immense  amount  of  patronage,  was  a  distinguished 
hunker,  and,  contrary  to  the  assurances  given  at  the 
Baltimore  convention,  was  appointed,  when  Governor 
Wright,  as  was  well  known,  was  in  favor  of  another 
citizen  of  this  state  as  its  representative  in  the  national 


(596  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846. 

cabinet.  Judge  Nelson,  also  an  eminent  hunker,  had 
been  appointed  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  an  office  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of 
which  required  his  residence  at  Washington  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  year ;  and  lastly,  a  short  time  before 
the  election,  Governor  Bouck,  who  more  than  any 
other  individual  represented  the  hunker  party,  was  ap- 
pointed to  one  of  the  most  important  and  influential 
offices  in  the  city  of  New  York.  When  the  appoint- 
ments of  governors  Marcy  and  Bouck  were  made,  the 
real  state  of  feeling  between  the  hunker  and  radical 
parties  in  New  York  must  have  been  as  well  under- 
stood at  Washington  as  at  Albany. 

We  are  aware  that  Mr.  Ritchie,  the  editor  of  the 
government  paper  at  the  seat  of  the  national  govern- 
ment, shortly  before  the  election,  published  in  the  Union 
a  sort  of  general  order,  impudently  forbidding  (at  least 
impliedly)  all  office-holders  under  the  president  to  vote 
against  Mr.  Wright,  under  the  pains  and  penalty  of  re- 
moval from  office.  We  know,  too,  that  a  few  days  be- 
fore the  election,  Mr.  Polk  and  several  of  his  secretaries 
wrote  to  Mr.  Wright,  assuring  him  of  their  anxious  de- 
sire that  he  should  be  successful  at  the  ensuing  election. 
We  are  not  advised  that  he  made  any  use  of  these  letters  ; 
but  if  he  or  his  friends  had  so  attempted,  it  was  evident 
they  came  too  late.  The  mischief  was  done,  and  the 
time  for  obviating  it  had  gone  by.  It  is  an  old  maxim 
of  the  common  law,  that  unusual,  labored,  and  redun- 
dant declarations  in  a  deed  for  conveyance  of  real 
estate — that  the  transaction  is  bona  fide  and  honest,  and 
that  a  full,  ample,  and  valuable  consideration  has  been 
paid — is  one  of  the  ear-marks  of  fraud  ;  and  accordingly 
some  of  the  friends  of  Gov.  Wright  doubted  the  sincerity 


1840.]       CAUSES  OF  MR.  WRIGHT'S  DEFEAT.         697 

of  these  assurances.  We  cannot  believe  that  Mr. 
Polk,  conscious  as  he  must  have  been,  that  he  owed  his 
own  elevation  to  the  generous  and  patriotic  sacrifice  of 
interest  and  feeling  by  Gov.  Wright,  could  have  been 
disposed,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  to  encourage  the 
opposition  to  Mr.  Wright.  But  it  was  well  known  that 
Mr.  Wright  disagreed  with  the  president  and  his  cabi- 
net on  the  question  respecting  the  admission  of  Texas ; 
it  was  also  well  known  that  Mr.  Wright,  if  he  should 
consent,  would  be  a  formidable  candidate  for  the  next 
presidency,  and  that  he  had  already  been  all  but  nomi- 
nated by  the  persevering  and  indomitable  Thomas  H. 
Benton.  Mr.  Buchanan  and  Mr.  Cass  were  avowed 
candidates  for  the  same  high  office.  Mr.  Walker  had 
also  been  spoken  of;  but  if  not  himself  a  candidate,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  his  views  were  entirely  adverse  to  the 
election  of  Mr.  Wright ;  and  Secretary  Marcy,  prob- 
ably the  ablest  man  in  any  of  the  departments,  sympa- 
thized with  the  feelings  of  his  hunker  friends  at  home. 
With  such  powerful  motives  operating  on  the  minds  of 
the  secretaries,  can  it  be  deemed  uncharitable  at  least  to 
suspect,  that  Messrs.  Buchanan,  Walker,  Cass,  &c., 
secretly  desired  to  impair  the  standing  of  their  great 
rival? 

But  whether  the  government  officers  at  Washington 
were  sincere  or  insincere  in  their  declarations,  is  not 
material  in  speaking  of  the  causes  of  the  defeat  of  Mr. 
Wright.  It  is  sufficient  to  say,  what  we  do  not  believe 
will  be  denied,  that  from  their  acts  the  impression  was 
general  that  the  hunkers  were  their  favorites,  and  the 
radicals  were  viewed  by  them  with  disfavor. 

Previous  to  the  election  of  1846,  by  the  adoption  of 
the  new  constitution,  the  governor  had  been  shorn  of 


698  POLITICAL  HISTORY  OF  NEW  YORK.  [1846 

nearly  all  his  patronage.  The  effect  this  must  have 
had  on  an  office-loving  community,  will  be  perceived 
and  appreciated  by  every  man  of  experience  and  re- 
flection. We  therefore  feel  authorized  to  assume  that 
an  impression  did  generally  prevail  that  the  predilections 
of  the  national  government  were  in  favor  of  the  hun- 
kers ;  that  they  were  its  special  favorites,  and  that  this 
impression  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  causes  of 
the  ill  success  of  Gov.  Wright  at  the  November  election 
in  1846. 

In  concluding  the  account  of  the  political  occurrences 
of  this  year,  which  concludes  our  history  of  political 
parties,  it  is  our  melancholy  and  painful  duty  to  record 
the  death  of  that  distinguished  politician  and  statesman, 
Gen.  ERASTUS  ROOT.  He  died  in  the  city  of  New  York 
on  the  24th  day  of  December.  A  few  days  before  his 
death  he  left  his  residence  in  the  village  of  Delhi,  and, 
accompanied  by  his  lady,  was  journeying  to  Washing- 
ton, with  a  view  of  spending  the  winter  there  with  their 
son-in-law,  Major  Hobbie,  the  assistant  postmaster-gen- 
eral ;  but  Providence  had  decreed  that  he  should  never 
again  see  that  city,  where  he  had  spent  so  many  winters 
actively  and  anxiously  engaged  in  the  bustle  and  strug- 
gles incident  to  political  rivalries,  and  as  a  prominent 
actor  and  combatant  in  the  conflicts  which  every  session 
of  congress  produces. 

The  author  has  now  before  him  a  letter  written  to 
him  by  the  general  the  evening  before  he  left  Delhi  for 
the  last  time :  quite  unusual  with  him,  every  sentence 
is  tinged  with  gloom  and  melancholy.  One  would 
think,  from  reading  it,  that  when  he  wrote  he  had  a 
presentiment  that  he  was  then  about  bidding  a  final 
adieu  to  his  home,  and  the  charming  village  of  Delhi 


1846.]  DEATH  OF  GEN.  ROOT.  699 

Gen.  Root  entered  the  political  arena  in  the  year 
1798,  and  continued  in  the  field  during  the  residue  of  his 
long  and  active  life,  for  he  was  a  member  of  the  conven- 
tion, in  the  autumn  of  1846,  which  put  Mr.  John  Young 
in  nomination  for  governor.  Much  has  been  said  of  him 
in  the  two  preceding  volumes  of  this  work ;  and  the 
journals  and  reports  of  the  proceedings  of  the  state  and 
national  legislatures,  exhibit  him  in  almost  every  page 
for  many  successive  years.  Some  of  the  most  impor- 
tant statutes  of  this  state  emanated  from  his  vigorous 
and  prolific  intellect.  With  physical  and  mental  powers 
superior  to  most  other  men — a  mind  highly  cultivated 
by  classical  learning,  and  enriched  by  extensive  and  va- 
ried reading — a  memory  which  never  failed  him — and 
with  the  most  scathing  and  scorching  wit  always  at  his 
command,  he  was  an  efficient  and  powerful  coadjutor  in 
any  cause  which  he  chose  to  advocate ;  while  by  his  op- 
ponents he  was  justly  regarded  as  a  most  formidable  an- 
tagonist. Sometimes  he  may  have  been  faulty,  errors 
he  may  have  committed,  uncourteous,  and  even  bitterly 
severe  he  doubtless  occasionally  was ;  but  God  had 
given  him  a  kind  and  generous  heart,  susceptible  of  deep 
sympathy  for  the  unfortunate,  the  persecuted,  and  the 
miserable.  He  loved  his  friends — he  loved  his  country, 
its  civil  institutions,  its  liberty,  and  its  glory.  During 
his  long  public  life,  no  one  ever  ventured  to  charge  him 
with  corruption,  or  to  insinuate  a  doubt  of  his  honesty 
and  integrity. 

"  No  farther  seek  his  merits  to  disclose, 
Or  draw  his  frailties  from  their  dread  abode : 
There  they  alike  in  trembling  hope  repose, 
The  bosom  of  his  Father  and  his  God." 


700  LIFE  OF  SILAS   WRIGHT. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Life  of  Silas  Wright  resumed  and  continued — Manner  in  which  Mi 
Wright  receives  the  news  of  his  defeat — Letter  from  George  W.  Little, 
Esq. — Wilmot  Proviso — Mr.  P.  King's  Bill  including  the  Wilmot  Pro- 
viso— His  Speech  on  the  Bill — Resolution  of  the  New  York  Legislature 
on  the  subject  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso — Mr.  Wright  leaves  Albany  for 
Canton — His  Journey  from  Utica — Letter  from  Col.  Hinman — Chicago 
Convention — Mr.  Wright's  Reply  to  the  Committee  who  invited  his  at- 
tendance— Mr.  Wright's  Address  at  the  Saratoga  Agricultural  Fair — 
His  Manner  of  Life  after  his  return  to  Canton — His  Death. 

HAVING  carried  down  (though  we  fear  very  imper- 
fectly) the  political  history  of  the  state  to  the  demise  of 
the  government  under  the  constitution  of  1821,  we  shalJ 
now  confine  ourselves  to  a  brief  account  of  the  conduct 
of  Gov.  Wright  during  the  short  period  he  remained  in 
Albany  subsequent  to  the  November  election  in  1846, 
after  which  it  will  become  our  painful  duty  to  follow 
him  in  his  retreat  to  his  favorite  and  secluded  home  in 
the  village  of  Canton,  and  to  his  last  resting  place — the 
grave. 

From  the  time  the  result  of  the  last  presidential  elec- 
tion was  known,  public  attention,  especially  in  the  free 
and  grain-growing  states,  was  turned  towards  Mr. 
Wright  as  the  man  who  ought  to  be,  and  who  would  be 
selected  as  the  next  candidate  for  the  presidency.  Thai 
a  very  large  majority  of  the  democrats  in  the  eastern 
and  western  states  were  for  him  there  can  be  little  doubl. 
The  current  in  his  favor  was  daily  deepening  and  wi- 
dening. Yet  he  had  formidable  rivals — among  whom 


LETTER  FROM  G.   W.  LITTLE,  ESa.  701 

may  be  mentioned  Buchanan  of  Pennsylvania,  Cass  of 
Michigan,  Woodbury  of  New  Hampshire,  and  to  these 
names  may,  perhaps  with  propriety,  be  added  Marcy,  of 
New  York.  The  November  election  in  this  state  had 
cast  a  blight  over  the  brilliant  prospects  of  Mr.  Wright. 
It  was  apparently  the  wreck  of  his  political  fortunes.  He 
was  beaten  in  his  own  state,  at  the  very  time  when  it 
was  of  the  last  importance  he  should  exhibit  strength  at 
home.  Would  not  his  friends  in  the  sister  states  aban- 
don a  candidate  who  was  condemned  by  the  voice  of 
the  people  of  the  state  of  which  he  was  a  citizen  ?  These 
and  the  like  reflections  must  have  pressed  upon  the  mind 
of  Mr.  Wright  at  the  close  of  the  polls  of  the  election. 
He  had  been  in  public  life  for  more  than  twenty  years, 
during  which  period  he  had  seven  times  been  a  candidate, 
either  before  the  people  or  their  representatives,  for  im- 
portant elective  offices,  and  had  never  been  an  unsuc- 
cessful one.  What,  under  similar  circumstances,  would 
have  been  the  high,  indeed  we  may  say  the  distracting 
excitement  of  the  minds  of  most  other  men,  subject  to 
the  ordinary  passions  of  human  nature  ?  How  did  the 
tidings  of  his  defeat  affect  Mr.  Wright?  Let  a  gentle- 
man speak  who  was  in  company  with  him  when  he  re- 
ceived the  result  of  the  election,  and  who  listened  to 
every  word  he  uttered,  and  carefully  observed  his  every 
look  and  gesture. 

"  ALBANY,  Dec.  21,  1847. 
••  HON.  J.  D.  HAMMOND — 

"  DEAR  SIR — On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  after  the  Novem- 
ber election  in  1846,  I  called  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Flagg, 
the  comptroller,  in  company  with  Lester  Barker,  Esq.,  the 
present  sheriff  of  Oneida  county.  We  found  there  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wright.  The  dispatches  had  been  but  a  short  time  re- 
ceived that  rendered  it  cor  lain  that  Mr.  Wright  was  beaten. 


702  LIFE  OF  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

I  was,  of  course,  aware  of  the  immense  importance  that  at- 
tached to  the  result  of  that  election,  not  to  the  democratic 
party  and  Mr.  Wright's  personal  friends  alone,  but  to  him  in- 
dividually. His  opponents  said,  that  if  he  was  defeated  in 
that  contest  there  was  an  end  of  his  career  as  a  public  man ; 
and  that  once  removed  from  the  public  eye,  and  in  retirement, 
both  the  man  and  his  history  would  be  speedily  forgotten. 
This  sentiment,  though  not  avowed,  I  know  was  shared  in 
some  degree  by  his  warmest  friends,  and  I  was  curious  to  see 
how  a  man,  whose  public  course  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  had 
been  one  of  uniform  and  unvarying  success,  would  bear  a  re- 
verse which  stripped  him  in  a  moment  of  his  employments, 
and  consigned  him  inevitably  to  retirement.  I  observed  him 
closely  during  a  conversation  of  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  was 
fully  impressed,  by  his  language  and  demeanor,  that  he  was 
not  only  a  great  statesman,  but  a  profound  philosopher.  Not 
the  least  appearance  of  mortification  or  disappointment  was 
visible.  His  manner  and  conversation  were  of  the  same  cheer- 
ful, affable  kind  which  always  characterized  him,  and  neither 
more  nor  less  so.  There  was  no  affectation  of  indifference  to 
the  result — no  desire  on  his  part  to  turn  the  conversation  into 
other  channels  than  the  then  engrossing  topic — no  word  of 
censure  or  reproach  for  those  of  his  own  party  who  had  aban- 
doned him  in  the  struggle — no  disparagement  of  his  competi- 
tor, or  the  opposing  party.  He  inquired  for  the  news  we 
brought  in  his  usual  smiling,  pleasant  manner — spoke  of  the 
probable  returns  from  counties  not  then  heard  from — and  all 
in  a  manner,  which ,  to  an  observer  that  did  not  know  him  per- 
sonally, would  have  appeared  only  like  the  natural  interest 
a  statesmen,  who  had  been  long  retired  from  active  life, 
would  feel  in  political  events  which  had  long  since  ceased  to 
have  for  him  any  personal  concern. 

"  I  left  that  interview,  the  last  I  ever  had  the  honor  of  hav- 
ing with  him,  more  deeply  impressed  than  ever  with  the  con- 
viction, that  with  all  the  great  and  noble  qualities  which  ele- 
vate, dignify,  and  adorn  human  nature,  Silas  Wright  was  pre- 
eminently endowed.  He  was  truly  a  great  man. 

G.  W.  LITTLE." 


Vv'iLMOT    PROVISO.  703 

The  writer  of  the  above  letter  is  Dr.  Little,  late  a 
canal  commissioner,  who,  as  between  the  two  sections 
of  the  democratic  party,  was  regarded  as  a  hunker.  We 
forbear  to  speak  further  of  the  evidence  of  true  great- 
ness which  the  philosophical  calmness  and  quiet  of  Gov. 
Wright  afforded  on  this  interesting  occasion.  The  plain 
facts,  truthfully  related  by  Doctor  Little,  are  his  best 
eulogy. 

When  the  war  against  Mexico,  in  the  spring  of  1846, 
was  commenced,  it  was  believed  it  would  be  of  short 
duration.  One  of  the  avowed  causes  of  the  war  was 
the  spoliations  committed  on  the  commerce  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  and  a  refusal  or  neglect  on  the  part  of  Mex- 
ico to  make  compensation  to  our  citizens  for  those  inju- 
ries. All  were  convinced  of  the  absolute  inability  of 
the  Mexicans  to  pay  in  cash  a  sum  sufficient  to  furnish 
the  required  indemnity.  It  was  therefore  evident,  that 
if  indemnity  was  obtained,  it  must  be  by  a  grant  of  ter- 
ritory by  Mexico,  other  than  that  included  within  the 
true  boundaries  of  Texas.  No  doubt,  at  that  time  the 
president  desired  to  acquire  possession  not  only  of  Up- 
per California,  the  annexation  of  which  would  be  highly 
advantageous  to  the  United  States  on  account  of  its 
ports  on  the  Pacific  ocean,  but  of  a  part,  if  not  the  whole 
of  New  Mexico.  To  effect  this  object,  and  to  facilitate 
negotiations  for  a  peace,  the  president  required  of  con- 
gress that  the  sum  of  two  millions  of  dollars  (afterwards 
increased  to  three)  should  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
the  executive  government.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
session  of  1846,  which  continued  into  the  summer  of  that 
year,  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the  house  of  representa- 
tives granting  the  president  the  sum  demanded,  in  pur- 
suance of  his  recommendation.  Previous  to  this,  con- 


704  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

gress  had  granted  men  and  money  for  the  purpose  of 
prosecuting  the  Mexican  war,  to  an  amount  quite  as 
large,  if  not  larger,  than  was  asked  for  by  the  national 
executive.  But  when  the  bill  for  granting  the  last  sum 
requested  by  the  president  was  under  consideration  in 
the  house  of  representatives,  Mr.  Wilmot,  an  active  and 
resolute  member  from  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  offered 
the  following  amendment  to  it,  subsequently  known  as 
the  WILMOT  PROVISO. 

"  Provided,  That  there  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involun- 
tary servitude  in  any  territory  on  the  continent  of  America, 
which  shall  hereafter  be  acquired  by,  or  annexed  to  the  United 
States,  by  virtue  of  this  appropriation,  or  in  any  other  man- 
ner whatsoever,  except  for  crimes,  whereof  the  party  shall  have 
been  duly  convicted.  Provided  always,  That  any  person  es- 
caping into  that  territory,  from  whom  labor  or  service  is  law- 
fully claimed  in  any  one  of  the  United  States,  such  person  may 
be  lawfully  reclaimed  and  carried  out  of  such  territory  to  the 
person  claiming  his  or  her  service." 

The  object  of  the  recommendation  of  the  president,  and 
of  the  bill  as  originally  drawn,  could  not  be  mistaken. 
It  was  to  purchase  territory  from  a  foreign  government. 
In  Mexico  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude 
was  permitted,  and  the  question  presented  by  Mr.  Wil- 
mot's  proviso  was,  whether  congress  should  grant  money 
to  the  president  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  free  ter- 
ritory with  a  view  to  the  establishment  of  slavery  in  it. 
The  proviso  was  adopted  by  the  house,  every  member 
from  the  state  of  New  York  voting  for  it ;  but  it  was  not 
sent  to  the  senate  until  within  a  very  few  days  of  the 
close  of  the  session.  When  it  came  to  that  house  one 
of  its  members  commenced  a  speech,  which  he  prolong- 
ed, evidently  for  the  purpose  of  "  talking  against  time," 
to  such  an  extent,  that  final  action  on  Mr.  Wil mot's  pro- 


SPEECH  OF  MR.  KING.  705 

viso  was  rendered  impossible,  and  the  bill  to  which  it 
was  attached  failed  of  becoming  a  law  during  that  ses- 
sion. 

On  the  4th  of  January,  1847,  during  the  next  session 
of  congress,  Mr.  Preston  King,  a  democratic  member  of 
congress  from  the  county  of  St.  Lawrence,  justly  dis- 
tinguished for  independence,  firmness,  and  talents,  brought 
in  a  bill  granting  the  money  to  the  president  which  he 
required,  and  which  contained  the  Wilrnot  proviso. 

In  explaining  his  object  in  introducing  the  bill,  Mr 
King  said — 

"  Sir,  in  proposing  to  introduce  that  bill,  I  had  no  intention 
to  interfere  with  or  to  anticipate  the  action  of  the  standing 
committee  from  which  it  came  to  the  house  at  the  last  session, 
but  was  governed  solely  by  the  desire  to  bring  the  subjects 
presented  by  the  provisions  of  the  bill  to  the  early  considera- 
tion and  action  of  the  house.  The  bill  embraces  two  principal 
features — one  placing  an  amount  of  money  at  the  discretion  of 
the  president,  to  be  used  in  negotiating  a  peace  with  Mexico, 
if  an  opportunity  shall  occur  when  the  president  should  deem 
it  proper  to  use  this  money  in  negotiating  a  treaty  of  peace  ; 
the  other  excluding  slavery  from  any  territory  which  the  Uni- 
ted States  may  hereafter  acquire,  being  the  provision  offered 
by  the  honorable  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania,  [Mr.  Wilmot,] 
and  adopted  as  a  part  of  this  peace  measure  by  the  house  of 
representatives  in  August  last.  I  will  frankly  say,  that  if  I  had 
not  supposed  that  there  was  a  disposition  in  some  quarters 
silently  to  give  the  free  principle  of  the  Wilmot  proposition 
the  go-by,  and,  by  smothering  and  avoiding  action  upon  it,  to 
give  further  extension  to  the  dominions  of  slavery  at  the  ex- 
pense of  free  territory,  I  should  not  at  this  time  have  brought 
forward  this  bill.  The  president  recommended,  and  reiterates 
his  recommendation,  of  a  law  granting  the  two  millions. 

"  If  coupled  with  the  Wilmot  proviso,  I  would  cheerfully 
grant  the  money.     But  I  would  have  the  free  principle  of  the 
Wilmot  proviso  enacted  into  law,  whether  this  bill  passes  or- 
45 


706  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

not.  The  time  has  come  when  this  republic  should  declare  by 
law  that  it  will  not  be  made  an  instrument  to  the  extension  of 
slavery  on  the  continent  of  America.  That  the  boundaries, 
institutions,  and  principles  of  our  republic  must  and  will  ex- 
tend, there  can  be  no  doubt.  The  present  war  with  Mexico 
must  result  in  an  extension  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States. 
A  peace,  honorable  to  this  country,  cannot  be  concluded  with- 
out indemnity  from  Mexico  in  territory.  It  is  whispered,  that 
it  will  not  do  to  propose  a  law  that  any  such  territory  should 
be  free,  because  a  southern  administration  will  take  no  terri- 
tory, unless  it  shall  be  so  arranged  that  the  territory  shall  be 
open  to  slavery.  I  will  not  listen  to  or  harbor  so  monstrous 
an  idea. 

"  Every  inch  of  Texas  was  yielded  to  slavery.  I  know  that 
it  was  reluctantly  yielded  to  the  possession  of  slavery  by  many 
who  supposed  the  acquisition  of  Texas  might  be  hazarded  by 
any  dissension  about  the  terms  so  strenuously  insisted  upon  by 
the  representatives  of  the  slave  states  ;  but,  with  Texas,  the 
extension  of  slavery,  it  was  supposed,  would  stop.  It  was 
hoped  the  South  would  not  desire  to  carry  it  where  it  does 
not  now  exist.  Is  this  so  ?  The  two  millions  are  distinctly, 
urgently,  and  repeatedly  recommended  by  the  president  to  be 
appropriated.  There  is  no  other  purpose  for  which  this  ap- 
propriation can  be  wanted  except  in  connection  with  a  cession 
of  territory  by  Mexico.  Mexico  already  owes  us  unpaid  in- 
demnities for  acknowledged  and  adjudicated  spoliations  on  our 
commerce,  f  repeat,  we  must  have  territory  from  Mexico ; 
and  there  can  be  no  harm  or  impropriety  in  stating  what  cir- 
cumstances and  every  action  of  our  government  proclaim  to 
the  world  as  clearly  and  as  unerringly  as  words  could  do. 

"  Shall  the  territory  now  free  which  shall  come  to  our  ju- 
risdiction be  free  territory,  open  to  settlement  by  the  laboring 
man  of  the  free  states,  or  shall  it  be  slave  territory,  given  up 
to  slave  labor  ?  One  or  other  it  must  be  ;  it  cannot  be  both. 
The  labor  of  the  free  white  men  and  women,  and  of  their  chil- 
dren, cannot,  and  will  not,  eat  and  drink,  and  lie  down,  and 
rise  up,  with  the  black  labor  of  slaves  ;  free  white  labor  will 


1846.]  SPEECH  OF  MR.  KING.  707 

not  be  degraded  by  such  association.  If  slavery  is  not  exclu- 
ded by  law,  the  presence  of  the  slave  will  exclude  the  laboring 
white  man.  The  young  men  who  went  with  their  axes  into  the 
forests,  and  hewed  out  of  the  wilderness  such  states  as  Ohio, 
and  Indiana,  and  Michigan,  and  Illinois,  and  Iowa,  and  Wis- 
consin, would  never  have  consented,  in  the  workshops  or  in 
the  field,  to  be  coupled  with  negro  slaves.  These  powerful 
commonwealths  have  sprung  up  in  the  great  West  within  the 
memory  of  a  single  generation — free,  populous,  and  flourish- 
ing, by  the  wisdom  of  the  legislation  of  the  men  of  the  Rev- 
olution. One  act  of  this  government  did  more  for  them  than 
all  other  acts  of  legislation.  It  was  the  ordinance  of  July,  1787, 
by  which  slavery  and  involuntary  servitude,  except  for  crime, 
was  forever  prohibited  in  all  the  territory  of  the  United  States 
north  and  west  of  the  Ohio  river.  The  brave  and  patriotic 
generation  who  achieved  our  independence,  and  established 
the  republic,  did  not  hesitate  about  passing  such  a'n  act.  They 
thus  saved  these  now  populous  and  powerful  states  from  the 
evils  of  slavery  and  a  black  population. 

"  Shall  we  hesitate  to  do  the  same  thing  for  territory  where 
slavery  does  not  now  exist  ?*  I  trust  not.  The  man  who  has 
wealth  or  credit  to  purchase  a  plantation,  and  become  the 
owner  of  slaves,  may  settle  and  reside  without  social  degrada- 
tion in  a  country  where  slavery  exists.  Not  so  with  the  labor- 
ing white  man.  He  cannot  go  without  social  degradation,  and 
he  therefore  will  not  go.  He  is  excluded  quite  as  effectually 
as  he  could  be  by  law.  The  mere  presence  of  slavery,  wher- 
ever it  exists,  degrades  the  condition,  the  respectability,  the 
character  of  labor.  A  false  and  mischievous  public  opinion 
regarding  the  condition  and  respectability  of  labor  is  produced 
by  its  presence  ;  and  false  and  recreant  to  his  race  and  to  his 
constituency  would  be  any  representative  of  free  white  men 
and  women,  who  should  by  his  vote  place  free  white  labor  upon 
a  condition  of  social  equality  with  the  labor  of  the  black  slave  ; 
equally  false  would  he  be  who,  upon  any  pretence,  should,  by 
inaction  and  evasion  of  the  question,  produce  the  same  degra- 
ding result. 


708  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

"  The  measure  which  I  had  the  honor  to  propose,  presented 
this  subject  to  the  house.  I  cannot,  and  of  course  do  not, 
claim  any  originality  in  the  principles  of  the  bill ;  one  feature 
of  which  comes  from  the  earnest  recommendation  of  the  pres- 
ident in  his  special  message  to  congress  of  the  last  session ; 
the  other  from  the  motion  of  my  friend  from  Pennsylvania, 
[Mr.  Wilmot,]  and  the  adoption  of  his  proposition  by  the  house, 
when  the  bill  was  considered  and  passed.  The  measure  is 
again,  in  the  annual  message  of  the  president  at  the  opening 
of  the  present  session,  strongly  recommended  to  the  favorable 
attention  of  congress.  The  history  of  the  measure  is  known 
to  the  house  and  the  country.  It  passed  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives at  the  last  session,  late  on  Saturday  night  next  pre- 
ceding Monday,  the  10th  of  August,  on  which  day  congress 
had  decided  to  adjourn  at  twelve  o'clock  at  noon.  Many  other 
important  bills  were  still  pending  in  the  senate,  to  be  decided 
in  the  forenoon  of  Monday,  and  this  bill,  taken  up  in  the  last 
hour  of  the  session  of  the  senate,  did  not  receive  the  final  ac- 
tion of  a  vote  upon  its  passage,  but  was  lost  by  not  having  been 
voted  upon,  and  without  the  decision  of  the  senate.  This 
measure,  in  a  time  of  war,  is  recommended  by  the  president, 
and  should  be  acted  on  by  congress  as  a  peace  measure,  and 
is  evidence  to  the  country  and  to  the  world,  that  however  vig- 
orously it  may  be  deemed  just  and  proper  to  prosecute  the  war, 
while  war,  or  cause  of  war,  exists,  still  the  desire  for  honora- 
ble peace  is  a  sentiment  strong  as  ever  with  our  government ; 
and  this  measure,  recommended  by  the  president,  is  evidence 
that  no  intention  exists,  in  negotiating  a  peace,  to  demand 
terms  other  than  such  as  are  honorable  both  to  this  country 
and  to  Mexico. 

"  Of  the  causes  of  the  war,  or  the  manner  in  which  it  com- 
menced, it  would  scarcely  be  proper  for  me  now  to  speak ;  even 
if  it  were,  these  topics  have  been  discussed  at  very  considerable 
length  by  those  much  more  able  to  elucidate  them  than  I  am. 
I  am  one  of  those  who  believe  a  war  with  Mexico  was  inevita- 
ble after  the  annexation  of  Texas  (upon  the  terms  selected  by 
President  Tyler)  should  be  consummated.  Whether  the  alter- 


SPEECH  OF  MR.  KING.  709 

native  mode  presented  by  congress,  or  any  other  mode  or  terms, 
would  have  avoided  war,  it  is  now,  perhaps,  useless  to  inquire. 
The  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  United  States  was  believed  to 
be  desired  by  the  people  of  both  countries ;  and  Texas  was 
annexed.  The  right  of  annexation  by  two  independent  nations 
cannot  be  questioned.  But  to  obtain  possession  of  Tamaulipas 
and  Chihuahua,  between  the  Nueces  and  the  Rio  Grande,  where 
the  Mexicans  held  disputed  possession,  and  to  get  Santa  F6, 
where  the  Mexican  authorities  and  people  held  undisputed  pos- 
session, the  use  of  force  was  necessary.  The  use  of  force  be- 
tween nations,  to  decide  a  disagreement  between  them,  is  war. 

"  The  use  of  force  and  of  military  power  was  necessary,  I 
repeat,  to  expel  the  Mexican  authorities  from  all  of  these  prov- 
inces claimed  by  Texas,  unless  Mexico  should  cede  them  by 
negotiation.  But  Mexico  not  only  refused  to  abandon  Tamau- 
lipas and  Chihuahua,  between  the  Nueces  and  the  Rio  Grande, 
and  Santa  Fe,  on  the  north  of  Texas,  but  she  even  asserted  a 
claim  upon  Texas  itself ;  and  declared  that  the  annexation  of 
Texas  to  the  United  States  would  be  regarded  by  her  as  an 
act  of  war  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  against  Mexico. 
When  measures  for  the  annexation  of  Texas  were  adopted  by 
our  government,  Mexico  withdrew  her  minister  from  Washing- 
ton, refused  to  renew  negotiations,  and  prepared  to  wage  war. 
In  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  on  the  Texan  side  of  that 
river,  the  armies  of  the  two  nations  met,  hostilities  commenced, 
and  actual  war  was  waged.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  what 
is  the  duty  of  every  good  citizen  of  the  United  States  in  a  state 
of  war.  The  enemies  of  his  countiy  should  be  his  enemies  ; 
her  friends  his  friends.  A  cordial  support  and  vigorous  pros- 
ecution of  the  war  should  be  sustained  while  the  war  lasts. 
The  war  should  be  terminated  whenever  an  honorable  peace 
can  be  obtained,  and  not  before. 

"  The  bill  which  I  proposed,  and  still  propose  to  introduce, 
looks  to  such  a  termination  of  the  war.  While  its  first  feature 
— the  two  million  appropriation — more  clearly  discloses  what 
it  would  be  in  vain  to  deny,  or  attempt  to  conceal,  that  the 
acquisition  of  territory,  at  least  of  the  Californias  and  New 


710  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

Mexico,  as  an  indemnity  for  the  war,  as  well  as  for  previous 
wrongs  and  injuries  against  our  government  and  citizens,  will 
be  insisted  upon  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  but 
upon  terms  liberal  and  honorable  to  Mexico,  it  contains  also  a 
principle,  in  the  provision  proposed  by  my  friend  from  Penn- 
sylvania, more  important  than  the  war  itself;  a  principle  with 
which  Mexico,  in  arranging  her  terms  of  peace  has  nothing  to 
do,  and  with  which  I  do  not  understand  that  it  is  proposed  by 
anybody  she  should  have  any  thing  to  do.  It  is  no  subject 
of  treaty  stipulation,  unless  the  treaty-making  powers  of  the 
two  governments  shall,  of  their  own  free  will,  choose  to  make 
it  so.  It  is  a  question  purely  our  own,  and  pertaining  ex- 
clusively to  the  United  States.  This  principle  excludes  sla- 
very from  any  territory  which  may  hereafter  be  added  to  this 
country.  This  principle  1  deem  to  be  of  vital  importance,  and 
should  be  very  much  gratified  if  it  could  receive  the  unani- 
mous assent  and  approbation  of  congress.  This,  however,  I  do 
not  expect.  The  same  interest  which  pertinaciously  insisted 
upon  extending  slavery  over  Texas,  still  desires,  I  apprehend, 
its  further  extension.  This  should  not  be  so.  For  the  exist- 
ence of  slavery  in  the  United  States,  the  government  of  the 
republic  is  not  responsible.  It  was  planted  here  while  the 
country  was  colonies  of  Great  Britain ;  and  its  existence  or 
continuance  is  not  a  question  for  the  government  of  the  Union  ; 
it  belongs  exclusively  to  each  state  for  itself. 

"  The  bill  proposed  presents  no  question  of  abolitionism^  It 
is  the  antagonist  of  abolitionism,  denying  any  constitutional 
power  in  the  federal  government  to  meddle  in  any  way  with 
the  existence  of  slavery  within  the  limits  of  a  state.  No  free 
state  in  the  Union  has  ever  held  or  asserted  the  right  or 
authority  of  the  federal  government  to  abolish  or  interfere 
with  slavery  in  any  state.  But  while  every  free  state  has 
always  maintained,  and  stands  ready  to  maintain,  the  consti- 
tution and  all  its  compromises,  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  the 
people  of  the  free  states  will  approve  the  exertion  of  the 
power  of  the  federal  government  to  extend  indefinitely  the 
institution  of  slavery  over  territory  which  is  now  free.  With 


SPEECH  OF  MR.   KING.  711 

the  abolition  of  slavery  the  congress  of  the  Union  can  have 
nothing  to  do ;  but  it  would  be  an  equally  wide  departure 
from  the  constitution,  and  from  every  sound  principle  upon 
which  our  republican  institutions  are  founded,  that  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  should  be  instrumental  in  ex- 
tending slavery  in  any  direction,  or  in  converting  free  territory 
into  slave  territory.  To  avoid  this  result,  it  is  necessary  that 
congress  shall  provide  by  law  against  the  existence  of  slavery 
in  any  territory  which  hereafter  may  beconqe  the  territory  of 
the  United  States,  and  which  shall  not  be  included  within  the 
limits  of  a  state.  Whenever  any  territory  shall  have  obtained 
population  sufficient  for  the  formation  of  a  state  government, 
and  shall  have  formed  a  state  constitution,  and  been  admitted 
into  the  Union  as  a  state,  then  the  responsibility  of  the  federal 
government  on  the  question  of  slavery,  for  that  territory  and 
people,  thus  admitted  as  a  state,  ceases. 

"  Then,  say  they  who  oppose  the  enactment  of  the  Wilmot 
proviso,  Why  not  let  the  question  alone,  and  leave  it  to  the 
states  and  the  people  themselves  to  determine  whether  the 
state  shall  be  a  slave  state  or  a  free  state  ?  This  inquiry  and 
reasoning  is  specious  and  plausible  ;  but  the  simplest  examina- 
tion on  the  principles  of  common  sense  will  show  that  it  is 
unsound  and  false.  If  left  alone,  slaves  more  or  less  will  be 
carried  to  the  new  territory,  and  if  the  country  while  it  re- 
mains a  territory  should  be  settled  by  a  population  holding 
slaves,  the  new  and  additional  question  of  abolition  is  present- 
ed, and  in  order  to  get  a  free  state  slavery  must  first  be 
abolished.  This  embarrassment  in  a  new  community,  without 
means  to  indemnify  the  owners,  would  be  an  obstacle  almost 
insurmountable,  and  the  new  state  would  be  very  far  from 
being  free  to  choose  between  becoming  a  free  state  or  a  slave 
state.  On  the  contrary,  if  the  country,  while  it  remains  a 
territory,  shall  be  settled  by  a  free  population,  from  which 
slavery  is  excluded,  then,  when  a  state  government  is  formed, 
the  state  and  the  people  would  be  unembarrassed  by  any 
pecuniary  interests  or  questions  of  vested  right,  and  be  free  to 
decide  whether  the  state  should  be  a  free  state  or  a  slave 


712  LIFE  OF  SILAS   WRIGHT. 

state.  In  order,  then,  to  secure  this  freedom  of  choice  to  the 
state  and  to  the  people,  slavery  must  be  excluded  from  the 
country  while  it  shall  be  a  territory,  and  until  it  shall  become 
a  state. 

"  But  I  will  not  pursue  the  subject  now.  It  must  be  obvious 
to  all,  as  I  think  it  will  be  acknowledged  by  all,  that  the 
character  of  the  population  in  the  territory  will  determine  the 
character  of  the  state,  when  that  territory  shall  be  erected 
into  a  state.  If  the  territory  has  a  slave  population  of  only 
one-fourth  or  one-fifth  of  the  whole  number,  it  will  be  a  slave 
state.  If  a  free  population  while  a  territory,  it  will  be  a  free 
state.  Exclude  slavery  from  all  territory  not  within  the  limits 
of  a  state,  and  I  am  willing  the  territory  shall  determine  for 
itself,  when  it  becomes  a  state,  what  shall  be  its  character. 
Many  of  the  states  in  which  slavery  existed  when  the  Union 
was  formed  have  abolished  the  institution.  No  instance  of 
any  one  of  the  states  from  which  slavery  has  been  excluded, 
can  be  found  where  the  state  or  the  people  have  determined 
to  introduce  slaves.  If  congress  shall  refuse,  at  this  session, 
to  make  this  free  principle  a  law,  the  arms  of  the  republic  will 
conquer  free  territory  upon  which  slavery  will  be  planted.  I 
desire  the  adoption  of  the  free  principle,  because  I  believe  it 
to  be  just  to  the  free  states,  just  to  the  white  men  who  fight 
our  battles,  and  who  constitute  the  strength  of  the  country  in 
peace  or  war ;  because  I  believe  it  to  be  consistent  with  the 
principles  of  our  government ;  and  because  I  believe  it  will 
tend  to  improve  the  condition  and  character  of  labor  in  the 
whole  country.  And  who  will  deny  that,  in  a  republic,  it 
should  be  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  government  to  elevate 
and  dignify  the  condition  and  character  of  labor?  Unless 
this  measure  shall  be  brought  before  the  house  by  a  commit- 
tee, or  in  some  other  way,  I  shall  continue  to  urge  the  bill  I 
proposed  yesterday  upon  the  attention  of  the  house." 

Mr.  King  might  have  added,  that  he  and  the  friends 
who  acted  with  him,  had  supported,  by  their  speeches 
and  votes,  the  grant  of  the  most  liberal  sums  of  money 


RESOLUTIONS  OF  N.  YORK  LEGISLATURE.      713 

to  defray  the  expenses  of  prosecuting  the  war  with  Mex- 
ico, and  that  they  should  continue  to  do  so  until  an  hon- 
orable peace  was  obtained  ;  but  that  the  grant  of  money 
for  the  purchase  of  free  territory,  with  the  intent  of  estab- 
lishing slavery  in  it,  presented  another  and  an  entirely 
different  question. 

The  bill  containing  the  Wilmot  proviso  again  passed 
the  house,  but  the  proviso  was  struck  out  in  the  senate, 
and  the  bill  finally  passed  without  it.  All  the  members 
of  the  house  of  representatives  from  the  state  of  New 
York,  save  one,  voted  for  the  proviso. 

While  this  question  was  before  congress,  the  follow- 
ing resolutions  passed  both  houses  of  the  legislature  of 
the  state  of  New  York,  by  the  votes  of  nearly  all  the 
members.  Those  who  voted  against  the  resolutions 
were,  we  believe,  all  hunkers,  except  Mr.  Flanders  from 
Franklin,  whom  we  have  before  noticed  as  a  member  of 
the  Syracuse  Convention  : 

"  Resolved,  That  if  any  territory  is  hereafter  acquired  by 
the  United  States,  or  annexed  thereto,  the  act  by  which  such 
territory  is  acquired  or  annexed,  whatever  such  act  may  be, 
should  contain  an  unalterable,  fundamental  article  or  provision, 
whereby  slavery,  or  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punish- 
ment for  crime,  shall  be  forever  excluded  from  the  territory 
acquired  or  annexed. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  senators  in  congress  from  this  state  be 
instructed,  and  that  the  representatives  in  congress  from  this 
state  be  requested,  to  use  their  best  efforts  to  carry  into  effect 
the  views  expressed  in  the  foregoing  resolution." 

Some  of  the  hunker  presses,  it  is  true,  took  ground 
against  the  proviso ;  but  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  all 
of  them,  so  far  as  we  recollect,  admitted  that  the  prin- 
ciple involved  in  the  proviso  was  correct,  and  that  when 
congress  should  legislate  on  the  subject  of  the  territories 


714  LIFE  OF  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

which  might  be  acquired  by  treaty,  a  provision,  similar 
to  that  contained  in  the  proviso,  ought  to  be  enacted. 

Mr.  Wright  had  not  left  Albany  when  these  resolu- 
tions were  before  the  legislature.  He  declared  his  cor- 
dial approbation  of  them.  It  has  been  suspected,  that  as 
Mr.  King  was  the  personal  and  political  friend  of  Mr. 
Wright,  his  action  in  congress  on  the  subject  of  the.  pro- 
viso was  prompted  by  Gov.  Wright.  But  however 
much  Mr.  King  respected  the  opinions  and  confided  in 
the  judgment  of  Mr.  Wright,  he  is  not  the  man  to  act 
under  the  influence  or  promptings  of  any  man.  Besides, 
we  have  satisfactory  assurances  that  Mr.  Wright  was 
entirely  ignorant  of  Mr.  King's  intention  to  agitate  the 
question  in  congress,  uptil  he  read  his  published  speech. 

On  the  subject  of  the  proviso,  Mr.  Wright,  in  a  letter 
to  Mr.  J.  H.  Titus,  of  New  York,  written  in  the  month 
of  April  of  that  year,  uses  this  strong  and  emphatic  lan- 
guage : 

"  If  the  question  had  been  propounded  to  me,  at  any  period 
of  my  public  life — '  Shall  the  arms  of  the  Union  be  employ- 
ed to  conquer,  or  the  money  of  the  Union  be  used  to  purchase 
territory  now  constitutionally  free,  for  the  purpose  of  planting 
slavery  upon  it' — I  should  have  answered,  No  !  And  this  an- 
swer to  this  question  is  the  Wilmot  proviso,  as  I  understand  it. 
I  am  surprised  that  any  one  should  suppose  me  capable  of  en- 
tertaining any  other  opinion,  or  giving  any  other  answer,  to 
such  a  proposition." 

Mr.  D.  S.  Dickinson,  the  United  States  senator  from 
this  state,  voted  against  the  Wilmot  proviso,  notwith- 
standing the  legislative  resolutions  we  have  copied ; 
and,  what  is  somewhat  singular,  made  a  speech,  in  which 
he  attempted  to  convince  the  senate  and  the  public  that 
his  vote  was  in  conformity  to  the  instructions  of  the 


LETTER  FROM  COL.   HINMAN.  715 

New  York  legislature,  as  expressed  in  the  resolutions 
above  set  forth ! 

Bad  weather,  the  want  of  snow  to  facilitate  travelling 
in  sleighs,  and  some  business  concerns,  detained  Gov. 
Wright  longer  in  Albany,  during  the  winter  of  1847, 
than  he  had  intended.  He  did  not  leave  there  until 
some  time  in  the  month  of  February,  when  his  friends 
at  Albany  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  him.  Alas ! 
they  did  not  know,  and  therefore  could  not  realize,  that 
they  were  never  again  to  meet  him  on  earth — that  this 
was  their  final  and  last  parting.  Our  blindness  to  the 
future  is  one  of  the  wisest  and  most  benevolent  provis- 
ions of  Providence.  "  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil 
thereof." 

A  description  of  the  plain  and  simple  manner  in  which 
Gov.  Wright  travelled  on  his  return  home,  will  be 
found  in  the  following  letter,  written  to  the  author,  and 
at  his  request,  by  a  highly  respectable,  old,  and  uniform 
political  and  personal  friend  of  the  late  governor. 

"  UTICA,  Feb.  17,  1848. 

"  DEAR  SIR — In  pursuance  of  the  request  contained  in  your 
letter,  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  state,  that  I  was  first  in- 
troduced to  Gov.  Wright  at  Middlebury,  in  Vermont,  in  the 
year  1815,  when,  I  believe,  he  was  a  member  of  the  college  in 
that  town.  I  saw  no  more  of  him  until  he  was  elected  to  the 
senate  of  this  state,  and  took  his  seat  in  that  body,  in  the  year 
1824.  From  that  time  until  the  year  1846  we  were  very  in- 
timate, communicating  with  each  other  without  the  least  re- 
serve, and  using  perfect  and  unrestrained  liberty  in  every 
thing  which  passed  between  us.  And  I  can  with  truth  and 
sincerity  say,  I  thought  more  of  that  man  than  any  man  living. 
I  never  found  a  man  more  devoted  to  what  he  believed  to  be 
the  true  interests  of  his  country,  and  of  the  people,  than  Silas 
Wright.  He  was  always  for  preferring  and  serving  his  politi- 


716  LIFE  OF  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

cal  friends,  but  he  never  indulged  this  desire  to  oblige  either 
political  or  personal  friends  at  the  hazard  of  the  public  weal, 
or  the  sacrifice  of  the  interests  of  the  masses. 

"  Gov.  Wright,  on  his  return  to  Canton,  in  the  winter  of  1846 — 
alas  !  it  was  his  last — passed  through  Utica.  He,  with  his  wife, 
arrived  here  in  the  cars  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  1 
met  him  at  Bagg's  hotel,  and  expressed  to  him  a  very  earnes** 
desire  that  he  should  remain  overnight,  as  there  were  many 
of  his  friends  in  Utica  who  wished  to  visit  him  that  evening  : 
but  having  been  detained  much  longer  in  Albany  than  he  hud 
anticipated,  he  replied,  that  he  could  not  spare  the  time,  and 
immediately  hired  a  farmer  by  the  name  of  Henry  Neger,  to 
take  him  and  his  baggage  in  a  lumber  sleigh  to  Canton.  Du- 
ring his  short  stay  in  Utica  he  visited  our  lunatic  asylum,  and 
while  he  was  gone  the  farmer  and  myself  arranged  his  bag- 
gage— consisting  of  boxes,  trunks,  and  a  few  fine  farming  tools, 
with  which  his  friends  at  Albany  had  presented  him — so  as  to 
make  room  for  himself  and  wife  to  sit  on  the  top  of  the  load, 
as  conveniently  as  we  could.  In  this  way  the  late  governor 
left  Utica,  about  five  o'clock  on  the  same  afternoon  he  arrived 
there.  This  was  the  last  time  I  ever  saw  my  friend.  I  was 
afterwards* informed  by  Mr.  Neger,  that  the  governor  and  his 
lady  passed  the  night  at  his  house,  about  four  miles  from  this 
city,  and  after  readjusting  their  baggage,  they  started  the  next 
morning  about  five  o'clock,  and  on  the  third  day  arrived  at 
Canton,  all  safe  and  in  good  order.  Mrs.  Wright  carried  a 
bird,  in  a  cage,  in  her  lap  the  whole  distance. 

"  In  this  unostentatious  and  plain  manner  did  that  man  travel, 
on  whom  the  hearts  of  millions  were  at  that  moment  fixed  for 
the  highest  and  most  honorable  office  in  America,  (may  I  not 
say  in  the  world  ?)  and  for  whom,  without  distinction  of  party, 
the  merchants  of  the  greatest  city  in  America  were  preparing 
a  service  of  gorgeous  plate,  at  an  expense  of  from  eighteen  to 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  to  be  presented  to  him  in  testimony 
of  their  respect  for  his  talents  and  patriotism,  and  their  grati- 
tude for  the  services  he  had  rendered  our  beloved  country. 


CHICAGO  CONVENTION.  717 

"  I  rejoice,  my  dear  sir,  to  learn  that  we  have  one  man  who 
is  disposed  to  perpetuate  the  name  and  fame  of  our  great  and 
good  man,  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

"  I  am,  with  great  respect, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  JOHN  E.  HiNMAtf. 
"  To  JABEZ  D.  HAMMOND,  Esq." 

We  regret  that  our  limits  do  not  permit  us  to  copy 
the  whole  letter  of  Col.  Hinman,  for  it  contains  a  stri- 
king instance  of  the  firmness  and  indomitable  resolution 
of  Mr.  Wright  in  resisting  the  blandishments,  as  well  as 
the  threats  of  the  organized  lobby*  which  in  1826  made 
a  rush  upon  the  senate,  as  we  have  heretofore  related,* 
to  force  through  that  house  some  dozen  bank  charters 
which  had  passed  the  assembly. 

At  the  latter  part  of  the  long  session  of  congress,  in 
1846,  a  bill  had  passed  making  appropriations  to  the 
amount  of  more  than  a  million  of  dollars,  to  be  expended 
chiefly  in  improving  the  harbors  on  the  western  lakes, 
and  removing  obstructions  from  rivers  which  might  be 
rendered  navigable.  This  bill  was  vetoed  by  the  presi-- 
dent,  on  the  ground  that  the  objects  for  which  the  mo- 
ney was  to  be  raised  were  not  recognised  by  the  consti* 
tution,  and  on  the  ground  that  the  money  appropriated 
by  the  bill  Was  necessarily  required  to  defray  the  expen- 
ses of  the  war  with  Mexico.  The  veto  produced  con- 
siderable excitement  against  the  president,  especially  in 
the  western  states  and  territories. 

This  excitement  occasioned  the  call  of  a  national 
convention  of  the  friends  of  those  improvements  at 
Chicago,  which  was  invited  to  meet  on  the  fourth  day 
of  July. 


Set-  Chap.  lit. 


718  LIFE  OF  SILAS   VVRIrtHT. 

A  most  respectable  committee  was  organized,  who 
addressed  letters  of  invitation  to  many  of  the  distin- 
guished men  in  the  eastern,  middle,  and  western  states. 
Among  other  statesmen,  Mr.  Wright  was  invited  to  at- 
tend. His  engagements  prevented  him  from  complying 
with  the  invitation.  Courtesy,  as  well  as  universal  cus- 
tom, required  of  him  a  written  reply  to  this  invitation. 
Here  then  was  an  opportunity  for  an  individual  who 
had,  by  the  expressed  voice  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  been  declared  their  first 
choice  for  chief  magistrate  of  the  Union,  to  throw 
out  some  lures  to  that  great  assemblage  of  highly  influ- 
ential men — coming  from  the  east,  the  north,  and  the 
west,  and,  indeed,  from  the  south,  intent  on  the  great 
project  of  the  improvement  of  the  harbors  on  our  lakes, 
and  the  navigation  of  our  rivers — to  induce  them  to 
believe  that  he  was  the  champion  who  would  lead 
them  on  to  a  triumphant  accomplishment  of  their  mag- 
nificent projects.  Does  Silas  Wright  attempt  this  in  his 
answer  ?  Far  from  it.  True,  he  evinces  his  conviction 
of  the  importance  and  utility  of  the  projected  improve- 
ment, and  expresses  an  opinion  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
general  government  to  construct  those  works  which  are 
of  national  importance  ;  but  he  more  than  intimates  that 
those  improvements  which  are  for  the  benefit  of  locali- 
ties, and  not  national  in  their  character,  should  not  be 
undertaken ;  and  he  proposes  that  congress  should  act 
separately  and  independently  upon  all  applications,  so 
that  each  case  should  stand  on  its  own  merits.  This 
mode  of  proceeding,  if  adopted,  would  effectually  pre- 
vent, so  far  as  any  general  rule  of  action  can  prevent, 
all  those  formidable  combinations,  vulgarly,  but  very  sig- 


LETTER  OF  MR.   WRIGHT.  719 

nificantly  called  "  log-rolling,"  so  pernicious  to  judicious, 
just,  and  fair  legislation. 

So  obviously  correct  are  the  principles  laid  down  by 
Mr.  Wright  in  his  answer  to  the  committee,  that  several 
respectable  public  meetings,  in  this  and  other  states  in 
the  Union,  have  declared  their  approbation  of  his  views  ; 
and  that  they  were  in  favor  of  improvements  by  the 
general  government,  according  to  the  principles  set 
forth  by  Mr.  Wright  in  the  letter  to  which  we  have  al- 
luded. We  therefore  think  it  our  duty  to  present  the 
following  entire  copy  of  that  letter  : 

"CANTON,  May  31,  1847. 

"  GENTLEMEN  : — Your  circular  inviting  me  to  attend  "  a 
Northwestern  Harbor  and  River  Convention,"  to  be  assembled 
at  Chicago  on  the  1st  Monday  of  July  next,  was  duly  received, 
forwarded  by  Mr.  Whiting,  of  your  committee.  My  attention 
had  been  previously  called  to  the  same  subject  by  the  invita- 
tion of  a  friend  at  your  city,  to  attend  the  convention,  and  gen- 
erously tendering  me  quarters  in  his  family  during  its  sitting. 
I  was  forced,  from  the  state  of  private  business,  to  inform  him 
that  I  could  not  make  the  journey  at  the  time  named,  and  the 
period  which  lias  elapsed  since  I  declined  his  invitation,  has 
only  tended  to  confirm  the  conclusion  pronounced  to  him. 
Were  it  possible  for  me  to  attend  the  proposed  convention, 
without  an  unreasonable  sacrifice,  I  should  most  gladly  do  so, 
as  my  location  gives  me  a  strong  feeling  in  reference  to  the 
prosperity  and  safety  of  the  commerce  of  the  lakes.  The  sub- 
ject of  the  improvement  of  the  lake  harbors  is  one  which  my 
service  in  congress  has  rendered  somewhat  familiar  to  me  in  a 
legislative  aspect,  while  my  personal  travel  upon  the  two  low- 
er lakes  has  made  the  necessity  for  these  improvements  mani- 
fest to  my  senses.  I  am  aware  that  questions  of  constitutional 
power  have  been  raised  in  reference  to  appropriations  of  money 
by  congress  for  the  improvement  of  the  lake  harbors,  and  I  am 
well  convinced  that  honest  men  have  sincerely  entertained 


720  LIFE  OF  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

strong  scruples  upon  this  point ;  but  all  my  observations  and 
experience  have  induced  me  to  believe  that  these  scruples, 
where  the  individual  admits  the  power  to  improve  the  Atlan- 
tic harbors,  arise  from  the  want  of  an  acquaintance  with  the 
lakes,  and  the  commerce  upon  them,  and  an  inability  to  be- 
lieve the  facts  in  relation  to  that  commerce,  when  truly  stated. 
"  It  is  not  easy  for  one  familiar  with  the  lakes  and  the  lake 
commerce,  to  realize  the  degree  of  incredulity,  as  to  the  mag- 
nitude and  importance  of  both,  which  is  found  in  the  minds  of 
honest  and  well-informed  men,  residing  in  remote  portions  of 
the  Union,  and  having  no  personal  acquaintance  with  either ; 
while  I  do  not  recollect  an  instance  of  a  member  of  congress, 
who  has  travelled  the  lakes  and  observed  the  commerce  upon 
them,  within  the  last  ten  years,  requiring  any  further  evidence 
or  argument  to  induce  him  to  admit  the  constitutional  power, 
and  the  propriety  of  appropriations  for  the  lake  harbors,  as 
much  as  for  those  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  I  have  long  been  of 
the  opinion,  therefore,  that  to  impress  the  minds  of  the  people 
of  all  portions  of  the  Union  with  a  realizing  sense  of  the  facts 
as  they  are,  in  relation  to  these  inland  seas,  and  their  already 
vast  and  rapidly  increasing  commerce,  would  be  all  that  is  re* 
quired  to  secure  such  appropriations  as  the  stole  of  the  na- 
tional treasury  will  from  time  to  time  permit,  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  lake  harbors.  I  mean  the  improvement  of  such 
harbors  as  the  body  of  the  lake  commerce  requires  for  its  con- 
venience and  safety,  as  contradistinguished  from  the  numerous 
applications  for  these  improvements  which  the  various  compe- 
ting local  interests  upon  the  shores  may  prompt ;  and  I  make 
this  distinction,  because  my  own  observation  has  shown  that 
applications  for  harbor  improvements,  at  the  public  expense, 
are  made  and  passed,  within  distance  of  a  very  few  miles,  and 
at  locations  where,  from  the  natural  position  of  the  lake  and 
coast,  a  good  harbor  at  either  point  would  secure  to  the  com' 
merce  of  the  lakes  all  the  convenience  and  safety  of  duplicate 
improvements.  Much  of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  appropria- 
tions grows  out  of  these  conflicting  applications,  and  the  stern- 
ness with  which  all  are  pressed  as  necessary  to  the  lake  com' 


LETTER  OF  MR.  WRIGHT.  721 

merce,  impairs  the  confidence  of  strangers  to  the  local  claims 
and  interests,  in  the  importance  of  all. 

"  It  is  the  duty  of  those  who  urge  these  improvements  for 
the  great  objects  for  which  alone  they  should  be  made  at  the 
expense  of  the  nation,  viz.,  the  convenience  and  safety  of  the 
lake  commerce,  to  be  honest  with  congress,  and  to  urge  ap- 
propriations at  points  where  these  considerations  demand  them. 
The  river  improvements  constitute  a  much  more  difficult  sub- 
ject, and  the  connection  of  them  with  the  lake  harbors  has 
often,  to  my  knowledge,  fatally  prejudiced  the  former.  There 
are  applications  for  improvements  of  rivers,  about  which,  as  a 
matter  of  principle  und  constitutional  power,  I  have  no  more 
doubt  than  about  the  harbors  upon  the  lakes,  or  the  Atlantic 
coast ;  and  there  are  those  which,  in  my  judgment,  come 
neither  within  the  principle  nor  the  constitutional  power  ;  but 
to  draw  a  line  between  the  two  classes  of  cases,  I  cannot.  I 
have  witnessed  numerous  attempts  to  do  this,  but  none  of 
them  have  appeared  to  be  very  sound,  or  very  practical.  The 
facts  and  circumstances  are  so  variant  between  the  various 
applications,  that  I  doubt  whether  any  general  rule  can  be  laid 
down  which  will  be  found  just  and  practical ;  and  1  think  the 
course  most  likely  to  secure  a  satisfactory  result,  with  the  least 
danger  of  a  violation  of  principle,  would  be  for  congress  to  act 
separately  and  independently  upon  each  application.  There 
has  appeared  to  me  to  be  one  broad  distinction  between  these 
cases  which  has  not  always  been  regarded,  but  which  I  think 
always  should  be.  It  is  between  the  applications  to  protect 
and  secure  the  safety  of  commerce  upon  rivers,  where  it  ex- 
ists and  is  regularly  carried  on  in  defiance  of  the  obstructions 
sought  to  be  removed,  and  in  the  face  of  the  dangers  they 
place  in  its  way,  and  those  applications  which  ask  for  improve- 
ment of  rivers,  that  commerce  may  be  extended  upon  them, 
where  it  is  not.  The  one  class  appear  to  me  to  ask  congress 
to  regulate  and  protect  commerce  upon  rivers  where  commerce 
in  fact  exists,  and  the  others  to  create  it  upon  rivers  where  it 
does  not  exist.  This  distinction,  if  carefully  observed,  might 
aid  in  determining  some  application  of  both  classes ;  but  it  is  not 


722  LIFE  OF  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

a  sufficient  dividing  line  for  practical  legislation,  if  it  is  for 
the  settlement  of  the  principle  upon  which  all  such  appli- 
cations should  rest.  I  use  the  term  '  commerce'  in  this  defi- 
nition, as  I  do  in  this  letter,  in  its  constitutional  sense  and 
scope. 

"I  must  ask  your  pardon,  gentlemen,  for  troubling  you  with 
so  long  and  hasty  a  communication,  in  reply  to  your  note.  It 
is  not  made  for  any  public  use,  but  to  express  to  you,  very 
imperfectly,  some  of  my  views  upon  the  interesting  subjects 
you  bring  to  my  notice,  which  I  shall  not  have  the  pleasure  of 
communicating  in  person, — and  to  satisfy  you  that  I  am  not 
indifferent  to  your  request. 

"  Be  pleased  to  accept  my  thanks  for  your  polite  invitation, 
and  believe  me, 

"  Your  very  respectful  and  ob't  serv't, 

"  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

"  Messrs.  J.  N.  JUDD  and  others,  Committee,  &c." 

The  state  agricultural  fair  for  1847  was  ordered  to  be 
held  at  Saratoga  Springs  in  the  month  of  September, 
and  Mr.  Wright  was  appointed  to  deliver  the  address  to  the 
society  on  that  occasion.  He  accepted  the  appointment, 
and  prepared  an  address,  which  he  completed  on  the  even- 
ing before  his  death.  This  -was  his  last  public  commu- 
nication. He  died  before  the  day  appointed  for  the  fair. 
The  address,  nevertheless,  at  the  special  request  of  the 
managers,  was  read  to  the  society,  and  to  the  immense 
audience  congregated  at  that  magnificent  exhibition,  by 
Gen.  Dix.  That  gentleman,  before  reading  the  address, 
submitted  some  brief  but  appropriate  and  impressive  re- 
marks on  the  character,  services,  talents,  and  lamented 
death  of  its  author,  in  his  happiest  and  best  style  and 
manner. 

The  traits  of  the  philosophical  and  great  mind  of  Gov. 
Wright  are  visible  in  every  line  of  this  address.  It  has 


ADDRESS  FOR  THE  AGRICULTURAL  FAIR.      723 

been  published  and  extensively  circulated,  and  ought 
to  be,  and,  it  is  presumed,  has  been,  generally  read. 

The  mutual  connection  and  dependence  of  agricul- 
ture, commerce,  and  manufactures,  with  and  upon  each 
other,  is  shown  in  the  address  with  that  clearness  u  hich 
distinguishes  all  he  ever  wrote  or  uttered. 

"  The  agriculture  of  our  state,"  says  Gov.  Wright,  "  far  as 
it  yet  is  from  maturity  and  perfection,  has  already  become  an 
art,  a  science,  a  profession,  in  which  h$  who  would  instruct 
must  be  first  himself  instructed  far  beyond  the  advancement 
of  him  who  now  addresses  you. 

"  The  pervading  character  of  this  great  and  vital  interest, 
however  ;  its  intimate  connection  with  the  wants,  comforts,  and 
interests  of  every  man  in  every  employment  and  calling  in  life  ; 
and  its  controlling  relations  to  the  commerce,  manufactures, 
substantial  independence,  and  general  health  and  prosperity 
of  our  whole  people,  present  abundant  subjects  for  contem- 
plation upon  occasions  like  this,  without  attempting  to  explore 
the  depths,  or  to  define  the  principles  of  a  science  so  profound, 
and,  to  the  uninitiated,  so  difficult,  as  is  that  of  agriculture. 

"  Agricultural  production  is  the  substratum  of  the  whole 
superstructure — the  great  element  which  spreads  the  sail  and 
impels  the  car  of  commerce,  and  moves  the  hands  and  turns 
the  machinery  of  manufacture.  The  earth  is  the  common  mo- 
ther of  all,  in  whatever  employment  engaged  ;  and  the  fruits 
gathered  from  its  bosom  are  alike  the  indispensable  nutriment 
and  support  of  all.  The  productions  of  its  surface  and  the 
treasures  of  its  mines,  are  the  material  upon  which  the  labor 
of  the  agriculturist,  the  merchant,  and  the  manufacturer,  are 
alike  bestowed,  and  are  the  prize  for  which  all  alike  toil. 

"  The  active  stimulus  which  urges  all  forward,  excites  in- 
dustry, awakens  ingenuity,  and  brings  out  invention,  is  the 
prospect  or  hope  of  a  market  for  the  productions  of  their  la- 
bor. The  farmer  produces  to  sell ;  the  merchant  purchases 
to  sell;  and  the  manufacturer  fabricates  to  sell.  Self-cor.- 
sumption  of  their  respective  goods,  although  an  indispensable 


LIFE  OF  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

necessity  of  life,  is  a  mere  incident  in  the  mind  impelled  to  ac- 
quisition. To  gain  that  which  is  not  produced  or  required,  by 
the  sale  of  that  which  is  possessed,  is  the  great  struggle  of 
laboring  man." 

In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he  shows  that  the  agri- 
cultural productions  of  this  country  exceed  the  demand 
for  consumption  by  its  inhabitants  ;  and  that  such  is  the 
extent  of  our  territory,  and  its  fertility,  that  if  the  ground 
is  properly  cultivated,  and  its  productive  powers  fully 
put  in  requisition,  considering  the  vast  quantity  of  un- 
cultivated land  contained  in  the  national  domain,  a  large 
surplus  for  an  indefinite  period  of  time  to  come,  may 
and  ought  to  be  raised  for  foreign  exportation  ;  and  he 
concludes  by  saying — 

"  The  prospect  in  future  is  full  of  cheering  promise.  We 
see  in  it  the  strongest  possible  security  for  our  beloved  coun- 
try, through  an  indefinite  period,  against  the  scourge  of  famine. 
Our  varied  soil  and  climate  and  agriculture  double  this  securi- 
ty, as  the  disease  and  failure  of  any  one  crop  will  not,  as  a 
necessary  consequence,  reduce  any  class  of  our  population  to 
an  exposure  to  death  from  hunger.  We  see  also,  in  addition 
to  feeding  ourselves,  that  our  surplus  is  almost,  if  not  alto- 
gether, sufficient,  if  faithfully  and  prudently  applied,  even 
now  to  drive  famine  from  the  length  and  breadth  of  Europe ; 
and  that  it  is  in  our  power,  by  faithful  mental  and  physical 
application,  soon  to  make  it  equal  to  the  expulsion  of  hunger 
from  the  commercial  world.  We  see  that,  dependent  upon 
the  commercial  markets,  our  agriculture  may  bring  upon  our 
country  a  high  degree  of  prosperity,  and  enable  us,  when  ex- 
traordinary occasions  shall  call  for  its  exercise,  to  practise  a 
national  benevolence  as  grateful  to  the  hearts  of  the  humane 
as  to  the  wants  of  the  destitute.  And  we  see  that,  by  the 
wider  diffusion  and  more  secure  establishment  of  a  successful 
agriculture  among  our  citizens,  as  a  permanent  employment, 
we  are  laying  broader  and  deeper  the  foundations  of  our  free 


RESOLUTIONS  OF  STATE  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY.     725 

institutions,  the  pride  and  glory  of  our  country,  and  prized  by 
its  freemen  as  their  richest  earthly  blessing ;  the  history  of  aH 
civil  governments,  confirmed  by  the  experience  of  this  repub- 
lic, furnishing  demonstrative  proof  that  A  WELL-EDUCATED, 

INDUSTRIOUS,  AND  INDEPENDENT  YEOMANRY  ARE  THE  SAFEST 
REPOSITORY  OF  FREEDOM  AND  FREE  INSTITUTIONS." 

These  were  the  last  words  addressed  by  SILAS  WRIGHT 
to  his  fellow-citizens.  They  are  worthy  of  the  states- 
man and  patriot  who  uttered  them.  How  deeply  ought 
they  to  sink  into  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  ! 

After  the  reading  of  the  address  had  been  concluded, 
the  Hon.  John  A.  King,  of  Queens  county,  offered  the 
following  resolution — 

"  Resolved,  That  the  eloquent  address  which  has  just  been 
read,  be  printed ;  and  that  the  president  be  requested  to  ask 
the  permission  of  Mrs.  Wright  to  retain  the  original  draft  of 
the  address,  to  be  placed  in  the  archives  of  the  society ;  and 
to  express  to  her  at  the  same  time  the  deep  sympathy  and 
regret  which  is  felt  by  all  its  members  for  the  irreparable  loss 
which  has  so  suddenly  overwhelmed  herself  and  the  state  in  a 
common  grief." 

Lewis  F.  Allen,  Esq.,  on  seconding  the  motion  to 
adopt  Mr.  King's  resolution,  moved  the  following  reso- 
lutions— 

"  Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Silas  Wright,  late  governor 
of  this  state,  the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society  have 
lost  a  friend,  benefactor,  and  honored  and  useful  member,  and 
the  community  an  illustrious  example  of  republican  simplicity 
in  private,  as  well  as  of  inflexible  honesty  and  great  capacity 
in  public  life. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  this  society  be  appointed 
by  the  president  thereof,  to  prepare  a  brief  memoir  illustrac 
tive  of  his  character,  his  virtues,  and  his  eminent  public  ser- 
vices, for  publication  with  the  address  delivered  on  this  occa- 


726  LIFE  OF  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

sion,  in  their  transactions  for  the  year  1847, — a  duty  the  more 
gratefully  performed,  as  the  last  public  act  of  his  life  was  one 
of  beneficence  to  the  farmers  of  his  country." 

These  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted. 

After  Mr.  Wright  returned  to  Canton  he  devoted 
himself  entirely  to  the  cultivation  of  his  little  farm  ;  and 
all  that  part  of  his  time  \\hich  was  not  occupied  in 
answering  the  letters  of  his  friends  and  in  carrying  on 
his  correspondence,  which  was  now  extended  through 
the  Union,  was  employed  in  actual  manual  labor.  His 
habits  were  the  same  as  in  the  first  part  of  this  work  we 
have  described  them,  unchanged  and  unchangeable. 
He  was  the  same  kind  neighbor,  the  same  judicious  and 
wise  mentor  to  all,  whether  in  high  or  low  life,  who 
consulted  him,  the  same  unpretending  and  quiet  citizen ; 
and  the  sick  and  dying  again  saw  him  watching  at  their 
bedside  in  the  gloom  of  night ;  they  again  saw  his  placid 
countenance,  beaming  with  benevolence,  bending  over 
them,  and  heard  him  whisper  words  of  hope  and  comfort. 
We  shall  not  repeat  or  attempt  to  amplify  what  we  have 
written  on  that  subject.  But  an  intelligent  and  highly 
respected  neighbor  and  friend,  a  gentleman  who  not 
only  possesses  a  mind  richly  stored  with  the  choicest 
literature,  but  who  is  a  practical  man  and  looks  deeply 
into  the  human  character,  who  visited  Gov.  Wright  but 
a  few  days  before  his  death,  has  favored  the  author  with 
a  letter  in  which  the  residence  of  the  late  governor  and 
the  village  in  which  it  is  situated  is  so  graphically  de- 
scribed, and  the  great  man  himself  exhibited  to  us  by  a 
portraiture  so  truthful  and  yet  so  vivid,  that  we  have 
obtained  his  consent  for  its  publication,  and  we  now 
have  the  pleasure  of  presenting  it  to  our  readers — 


LETTER  FROM   O.   A.  MOUSE,  ESa.  727 

"  CHERRY  VALLEY,  March  31,  1848. 

"  DEAR  SIR — In  reply  to  your  note,  requesting  me  to  give 
you  an  account  of  a  call  I  made  on  the  late  Gov.  Wright,  last 
summer,  at  his  residence  in  Canton,  I  send  you  the  follow- 
ing statement,  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  of  some  interest,  so 
far  as  it  shows  the  habits  and  mode  of  life  at  home  of  that 
eminent  man. 

"  Canton  is  a  very  remote,  inaccessible  village.  The  routes 
to  it,  via  Oswego  or  Montreal,  about  four  hundred  miles  in 
length  from  Albany,  are  often  preferred  to  the  stage  route 
from  Rome,  in  length  from  Albany  about  two  hundred  miles. 
The  village  contains  about  eight  hundred  inhabitants,  and  is 
built  in  the  plainest  manner,  with  little  of  that  display  of 
architecture  which  is  usually  to  be  seen  in  like  villages,  par- 
ticularly in  the  western  counties  of  the  state.  The  manners 
and  style  of  living  of  the  citizens  I  should  judge  to  be  equally 
unpretending.  Gov.  Wright's  is  a  small  wooden  house,  situ- 
ated directly  in  the  village,  as  common  in  its  outward  appear- 
ance, in  every  respect,  as  the  dwellings  of  his  neighbors. 

"  1  was  there  one  sultry  day  in  June  last,  and  on  inquiring 
for  the  governor,  was  told  that  he  was  on  his  farm  at  work. 
I  went  to  him,  and  found  him  hoeing  in  a  field  of  potatoes. 
In  his  dress  as  well  as  occupation  he  looked  in  every  particu- 
lar the  common  laboring  farmer.  He  paused  from  his  work  as 
I  addressed  him,  and  leaning  on  his  hoe,  and  wiping  from  his 
face  the  perspiration  caused  by  an  intensely  hot  sun,  received 
me  with  his  usual  ease  and  propriety  of  manner  and  language. 
Elegance  of  speech  from  Gov.  Wright,  in  Albany  or  Wash- 
ington, was  not  to  be  wondered  at,  but  I  must  say,  that  in  the. 
course  of  his  conversation,  in  spite  of  my  previous  knowledge 
of  the  man,  I  was  in  a  measure  surprised  to  hear  it  from  him 
as  he  then  stood  before  me,  apparently  a  laboring  farmer,  in 
a  lonely  field,  near  the  verge  of  the  northern  wilderness,  with 
the  tools  and  evidence  of  unostentatious  and  hard  toil  around 
him.  He  directed  his  remarks  chiefly  to  the  object  of  my 
visit  to  the  county,  and  when  talking,  would  occasionally  make 
a  few  strokee  with  his  hoe,  so  that  while  I  was  with  him  he 
finished  one  or  two  hills  of  potatoes,  in  the  most  thorough 


728  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

manner,  carefully  pulling  out  the  quack  with  his  fingers,  and 
extirpating  every  thistle  and  weed.  He  said  that  his  farm  con- 
tained between  one  and  two  hundred  acres,  that  he  usually  la- 
bored with  his  men,  but  did  not  accompany  them  that  morning 
because  he  could  not  suffer  the  potatoes  longer  to  be  neglected. 
"  During  the  summer  of  1844  I  had  heard  of  Governor 
Wright's  habit  of  laboring  on  his  farm,  and  I  had  supposed 
that  he  indulged  in  it  occasionally  only  for  recreation  and  ex- 
ercise, like  many  other  gentlemen  living  in  the  country,  but  in 
this  interview  I  was  satisfied  that  he  was  emphatically  a  far- 
mer in  the  common  way,  laboring  daily  and  all  day,  and  shun- 
ning none  of  the  drudgery  and  toil  of  the  business.  I  was  con- 
vinced, also,  by  my  own  observations  and  by  the  remarks  of  his 
townsmen,  that  this  practice  was  not  adopted  for  effect  abroad, 
and  that  it  would  be  absurd  as  well  as  unjust  to  suspect  him 
of  so  unworthy  a  motive.  It  is  not  uncommon  for  statesmen 
to  retire  from  office  to  agriculture,  but  they  have  always,  I  be- 
lieve, like  Lord  Bolingbroke,  attempted  to  adorn  and  magnify 
the  business  by  a  parade  of  philosophy,  or  else  have  solaced 
themselves  in  their  retreat  with  the  refinements  and  luxuries  of 
wealth.  We  may  read,  indeed,  of  statesmen  putting  off  the 
robes  and  etiquette  of  office  for  the  dress  and  manners  of  the 
artisan  and  farmer,  in  unaffected  contentment  and  peace, 
though  I  am  sure  it  has  been  commonly  thought  that  the  pic- 
ture was  a  fable  ;  or  if  ever  a  fact,  that  it  must  have  been  so 
only  in  the  barbarous  and  primitive  days  of  Roman  or  Grecian 
virtue ;  but  here  I  saw  it  before  me  in  reality,  and  though  I  am 
not  inclined  to  hero  worship,  I  was  impressed  with  the  thought 
that  I  was  witnessing  a  scene  which  the  poets  and  philoso- 
phers of  the  world  have  always  admired  as  exhibiting  exalted, 
though  they  may  have  believed  it  to  be  ideal,  integrity  and 
greatness  of  soul.  Gov.  Wright  that  day,  when  laboring  in 
that  obscure  field,  was  perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  man  in 
America,  and  the  contrast  the  fact  affords,  in  popular  estima- 
tion, must  tend  to  give  peculiar  and  historical  interest  to  his 
character. 

"  I  am  truly  yours,  0.  A.  MORSE. 

w  HON.  J.  D.  HAMMOND." 


HIS    LOVE    OF    RETIREMENT.  729 

Let  Governor  Wright  himself  tell  us  how  highly  he 
enjoyed  this  quiet  and  retired  life.  In  his  letter  to  Gov. 
Fairfield,  of  Maine,  dated  at  Canton  the  llth  August, 
but  sixteen  days  before  his  death,  he  says : — 

"  If  I  were  to  attempt  to  tell  you  how  happy  we  make  our- 
selves at  our  retired  home,  I  fear  you  would  scarcely  be  able 
to  credit  me.  I  even  yet  realize,  every  day  and  every  hour, 
the  relief  from  public  cares  and  perplexities  and  responsibili- 
ties, and  if  any  thought  about  temporal  affairs  could  make  me 
more  uneasy  than  another,  it  would  be  the  serious  one  that  I 
was  again  to  take  upon  myself,  in  any  capacity,  that  ever-- 
pressing load.  I  am  not,  however,  troubled  with  any  such 
thought,  and  am  only  occasionally  a  little  vexed  that  I  am 
constantly  suspected  of  cherishing  further  vain  and  unreason- 
able ambition."* 


*  Since  this  chapter  was  written  the  author  received  the  follow- 
ing beautiful  paragraph,  composed  by  Gov.  Wright  after  his  return  to 
Canton,  for  the  amusement  and  instruction,  and  at  the  request  of  his 
niece,  then  less  than  thirteen  years  old. 

If  Gov.  Wright  had  lived  and  died  a  stranger  to  the  people  of  this  state 
and  nation,  this  brief  essay  on  "  The  Flowers  of  the  Spring,"  written  for 
a  little  girl,  would  have  convinced  all  who  read  it  of  his  exquisite  percep- 
tion of  the  beauties  of  nature,  and  of  the  purity  and  elegance  of  his  mind, 
which  could  find  "  sermons"  in  flowers,  and  "  good  iq  every  thing." 

"  The  season  of  flowers  is  beginning  to  open  in  this  northern  climate, 
and  who  is  not  fond  of  their  quiet  beauty  and  sweet  fragrance  ?  The  early 
spring  brings  forth  the  modest  wild-flower  of  the  hillside,  which  blooms 
for  its  season,  and  fades  and  withers  away,  and  gives  place  to  its  successor,  • 
and  it  to  another,  and  another,  iu  a  regular  succession,  until  the  frosts  of 
autumn  close  the  series.  Each  succession,  in  its  day,  is  equally  perfect 
iu  form  and  beauty,  and  tint  and  fragrance,  according  to  its  nature  and 
race, — all  equally  displaying  the  wonderful  perfection  of  that  Almighty 
Power  which  has  created  all  things,  from  the  world  we  inhabit  to  the  rose 
and  the  violet.  % 

"  How  strikingly  emblematic  of  human  life  are  the  flowers  of  the  gar- 
den and  the  field  !  'One  is  low  and  modest  and  simple  ;  another  is  tower- 
ing and  gaudy  and  ostentatious.  One  is  delicate  in  tint  and  rich  in  fra» 
grance  ;  another  is  glowiug  in  colors,  but  wholly  scentless.  One  is  hardy 
and  enduring  under  almost  any  change  of  the  seasons  ;  another  is  delicate 


730  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

But  while  he  was  enjoying  these  quiet  scenes  of  life, 
secluded  from  the  political  storms  and  hurricanes  which 
howled  around  him,  a  mysterious  Providence  permitted 
the  angel  of  death  to  visit  him.  He  died  on  the  27th 
day  of  August. 

It  is  remarkable  how  large  a  proportion  of  Americans 
highly  distinguished  for  their  talents  and  intellectual 
vigor,  have  died  almost  instantaneously,  evidently  by 
some  sudden  affection  of  the  heart  or  the  brain.  De 
Witt  Clinton,  Thomas  Addis  Emmet,  Mr.  Webster,  the 
brother  of  Daniel  Webster,  Henry  R.  Storrs,  Silas 
Wright,  and  John  Quincy  Adams,  besides  many  others, 
have  in  this  way  seen  "the  last  of  earth."  Whether 
great  mental  power,  does  not  occasion  a  disproportion- 
ate action  between  the  nervous  and  vascular  systems,  is 
an  inquiry  which  well  merits  the  attention  of  learned 
physiologists. 

The  Hon.  J.  Leslie  Russell,  of  Canton,  the  intimate 
and  confidential  friend  of  Gov.  Wright,  in  a  letter,  dated 
on  the  day  of  his  death,  to  Comptroller  Flagg,  thus  de- 
scribes the  closing  scene  of  the  life  of  the  great  states- 
man: 

"  About  eight  o'clock  this  morning,  Mr.  Wright  came  to 
the  post-office  for  his  mail.  He  was  in  apparent  good  health 

and  sensitive,  and  shrinks  from  the  shade  and  withers  at  the  touch.  Yet 
all  spring  up  and  bloom,  and  fade,  and  die,  some  in  one  stage  of  existence 
and  some  in  another. 

"  So  with  human  life.  The  shades  and  casts  of  character  are  as  vari- 
ous as  the  tints  and  fragrance  of  the  flowers,  and  all  bloom,  and  fade,  and 
die,— some  in  infancy,  some  in  the  budding  season  of  youth,  some  in  ma- 
ture life,  and  some  by  the  frosts  of  age  ;  but  all,  all  die,  and,  as  with  flow- 
ers, the  autumn  and  winter  of  years  close  the  series  with  one  generation 
to  make  room  for  another,  and  another,  and  another. 

"S.  W 

"  Canton,  April,  1847." 


DEATH    OF    MR.   WRIGHT.  731 

and  spirits — took  his  letters — sat  down — opened  one  from 
Horace  Moody — read  it  partly  through — laid  it  down,  with 
other  letters — turned  very  pale,  and  said  to  a  friend  present, 
'  I  feel  quite  ill.'  The  friend  says,  '  Your  countenance  shows 
that  you  are  sick ;  shall  I  call  a  doctor  ?'  Mr.  Wright  de- 
clined having  the  physician  sent  for,  saying  that  he  had  had  two 
or  three  such  turns  before,  and  soon  got  relief.  He  complained 
of  a  painful  sense  of  suffocation  about  the  heart.  His  friends 
present  felt  alarmed,  and  sent  the  third  time  for  a  physician 
before  he  came.  Full  one  hour  he  sat  in  the  post-office,  con- 
versing with  persons  present,  who  felt  intense  anxiety  about 
his  health — he  assuring  them  that  he  should  soon  be  better. 

"  The  physician  came  to  the  post-office,  gave  him  a  mild 
anodyne,  and  a  friend  asked  him  to  permit  him  to  accompany 
him  to  the  house.  Mr.  Wright  says,  '  Yes,  and  I  will  thank 
you  to  go  with  me  :  Dr.  Clark,  you  come  too.' 

"  He  walked  calmly  as  usual  to  his  house,  the  friend  and 
doctor  in  company — laid  down  upon  a  bed  with  his  clothes 
on,  saying  that  he  thought  the  medicine  did  not  relieve  him. 
The  doctor  gave  orders  for  the  application  of  drafts  and  other 
remedies,  and  left  him.  About  ten  o'clock,  A.  M.,  he  died,  as 
is  supposed,  from  a  rush  of  blood  to  the  head. 

"  Only  last  evening,  Mr..  Wright  was  employed  in  writing 
an  address  to  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  to  be  delivered 
at  Saratoga  next  month. 

"  The  proximate  cause  of  the  sudden  attack  which  has  car- 
ried off  our  friend,  is,  too  severe  labor  on  his  farm  during  the 
recent  hot  weather.  He  was,  to  my  knowledge,  aware  of  a 
tendency  to  apoplexy.  His  diet  had  been  very  simple,  and  he 
supposed  that  labor  in  the  open  air  was  the  best  antidote 
against  the  plethoric  tendency  of  his  constitution. 

"  Yesterday  I  attended  a  funeral  with  him,  and  walked  with 
hun  to  the  grave.  He  spoke  of  apoplexy  in  connection  with 
the  death  of  a  friend  from  that  disease,  in  a  manner  which  in- 
duced me  then  to  believe  that  he  had  a  premonition  of  this 
dire  calamity." 

To  this  unadorned  narrative  of  the  "  sudden  wrench 


732  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

from  life's  meridian  joys"  of  one  of  the  greatest  men  of 
the  age,  we  shall  only  add  a  single  sentence,  which  we 
quote  from  the  eloquent  "  Discourse"  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Sprague,  which  he  delivered  at  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Albany,  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Wright : 

"  At  a  moment,"  says  the  reverend  orator,  "  when  he  has 
just  completed  his  preparation  for  an  important  public  service, 
and  is  making  his  arrangements  to  come  among  us  again  as  a 
friendly  visiter ;  oh,  at  this  most  unexpected  moment  '  his 
breath  goeth  forth  !'  It  seemed  to  those  who  looked  on  as  if 
it  must  be  some  fearful  illusion  that  had  overtaken  them ;  or 
else  as  if  the  breath  had  gone  only  to  come  again  :  but  it  was 
no  illusion  ; — it  was  no  temporary  suspension  of  the  vital  en- 
ergy. Death,  as  if  to  show  how  he  could  sport  with  the 
strongest,  had  held  that  prince*  in  his  grasp  but  a  few  mo- 
ments before  he  bid  the  agonized  lookers  on  take  notice  how 
thoroughly  he  had  done  his  work.  And  before  the  vital 
warmth  has  fled,  the  lightning  is  put  in  requisition  to  bear  the 
heavy  tidings  over  the  land  ;  and  the  sun,  in  whose  morning 
beams  our  friend  rejoiced,  has  not  sunk  beneath  the  horizon, 
before  the  state,  I  had  almost  said  the  nation,  is  putting  on 
her  habiliments  of  mourning,  because  she  shall  see  his  face  no 


*  Dr.  Sprague  had  selected  for  his  text  that  beautiful  passage  from  the 
book  of  Psalms,  "  Put  not  your  trust  in  princes"  &c. 


PROCEEDINGS  ON  HIS  DEATH.  733 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Proceedings  on  the  Death  of  Mr.  Wright,  at  Albany— New  York— Tam- 
many Society — State  Legislature — Wisconsin — Presentation  of  Plate 
by  the  New  York  Merchants  to  Mrs.  Wright— Funeral  Sermon  by 
Mr.  Johnson— Remarks  on  the  Character  of  Silas  Wright 

NEVER  did  the  death  of  a  private  citizen  of  the  state 
of  New  York  produce  a  sensation,  throughout  all  ranks 
and  every  part  of  the  community,  so  intense  as  the  sud- 
den death  of  Mr.  Wright. 

The  common  councils  of  the  cities  of  New  York  and 
Albany,  as  soon  as  the  melancholy  news  reached  those 
cities,  immediately  assembled  to  express  their  respect 
for  his  character  and  merits,  and  their  regret  for  the  loss 
which  the  public  had  sustained  by  his  death.  The  flags 
of  the  shipping  in  the  port  of  New  York  were  displayed 
at  half-mast.  The  city  of  Albany  set  apart  a  day  on 
which  funeral  honors  should  be  paid  to  the  deceased  ; 
and  the  adjutant-general  of  the  state,  in  pursuance  of  the 
directions  of  the  governor,  ordered  that  the  national 
colors  should  on  that  day  be  displayed  on  the  capitol 
and  state  arsenal,  and  that  minute  guns  should  be  fired 
from  12  to  2  o'clock.  The  Tammany  Society  of  New 
York  passed  resolutions  expressive  of  "  its  high  respect 
for  the  distinguished  dead,"  and  that  its  members  should 
wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for  thirty  days. 

On  the  9th  of  September  Gov.  Young  addressed  to 
the  legislature  of  this  state,  who,  in  pursuance  of  an  ad- 
journment previously  made,  had  assembled  on  the  pre-- 


734  LIFE  OP  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

ceding  day,  the  following  special  message,  equally  cred- 
itable to  himself  and  honorable  to  the  memory  of  his 
great  competitor  at  the  last  election  : 


"EXECUTIVE  CHAMBER,      ) 
Albany,  Sept.  9,  1847.  j 
"  To  THE  LEGISLATURE — 

"  SILAS  WRIGHT,  the  late  chief  magistrate  of  this  state,  died 
at  his  residence  in  Canton,  in  the  county  of  St.  Lawrence,  on 
the  27th  day  of  August  last. 

"  Although  scarcely  arrived  at  the  meridian  of  life,  he  had 
not  only  held  the  office  of  governor  of  this  state,  but  had  dis- 
charged, with  singular  ability,  the  various  duties  pertaining  to 
the  offices  of  state  senator,  comptroller,  and  senator  in  the 
congress  of  the  United  States. 

"  As  a  statesman  he  occupied  a  high  place  among  the  dis- 
tinguished public  men  of  the  age. 

"  In  private  life  he  enjoyed,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  re- 
spect and  esteem  of  those  to  whom  he  was  personally  known. 

"Although  his  name  will  go  down  to  posterity  without  the 
aid  of  official  records,  his  eminent  public  services  and  great 
private  worth  render  it  proper  that  I  should  thus  announce 
to  you  his  death,  to  the  end  that  such  measures  may  be 
adopted  as  are  demanded  by  the  deep  feeling  that  pervades 
the  community. 

"  JOHN  YOUNG." 


When  this  message  was  communicated  to  the  legisla- 
ture, a  joint  committee  of  the  two  houses  was  appointed, 
who  reported  resolutions  highly  laudatory  of  the  talents, 
services,  and  patriotism  of  the  late  governor,  and  direct- 
ing that  the  members  should  wear  badges  of  mourning 
and  grief.  Mr.  Perkins,  from  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  as- 
sembly, and  Mr.  J.  A.  Spencer,  in  the  senate?  delivered 
impressive  and  eloquent  eulogies  on  the  deceased  states- 


LEGISLATURE  OF  WISCONSIN.  735 

man,  who  had  been  so  long  known  to  the  public,  and  so 
highly  appreciated  by  his  fellow-citizens. 

The  most  respectable  public  journals  throughout  the 
nation  joined  in  the  general  lamentation,  and  public 
bodies  in  several  of  the  other  states  of  the  Union  mani- 
fested their  esteem  for  Gov.  Wright,  and  their  deep  re- 
gret for  the  loss  which  the  nation  had  sustained  by  his 
untimely  death.  The  Young  Men's  Democratic  Asso- 
ciation of  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia  assembled,' 
and,  on  their  invitation,  the  Hon.  Henry  D.  Gilpin,  at- 
torney-general of  the  United  States,  delivered  an  elo- 
quent eulogy  upon  Mr.  Wright.  Even  at  the  far  West, 
in  the  (then)  territory  of  Wisconsin,  Gov.  Dodge,  in  his 
annual  message  to  the  territorial  legislature,  thus  speaks 
of  the  deceased  patriot : 

"  Since  the  last  annual  session  of  the  legislative  assembly, 
SILAS  WKIOHT,  a  great  statesman  of  the  Empire  state  of  the 
Union,  has  fallen  by  the  hand  of  death,  in  the  meridian  of  his 
life  and  usefulness  to  the  country.  When  a  member  of  the 
United  States  senate,  he  was  an  able  supporter  of  the  rights 
of  the  people  of  Wisconsin.  He  was  in  favor  of  a  system  of 
policy,  tending  to  promote  her  agricultural  and  commercial 
interests.  He  was  a  firm  patriot,  a  sagacious  statesman,  a 
friend  of  equal  rights  and  universal  freedom.  For  his  self- 
sacrifices  as  a  politician  for  what  he  believed  would  promote 
the  best  interests  of  his  country,  he  has  justly  been  called  the 
'  Cato  of  America.'  " 

To  which  the  legislature  responded  by  the  adoption 
of  the  following  appropriate  resolution  : 

"  Whereas,  The  dignity  and  power  of  a  state,  no  less  than 
the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  its  people,  depend,  in  an  emi- 
nent degree,  upon  the  wisdom,  integrity,  and  patriotism  of  its 
citizens.  And  whereas  the  legislative  assembly  of  Wisconsin 
recognise,  in  the  life  of  the  late  Silas  Wright,  of  New  YorR,  all 


736  LIFE  OP  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

that  could  adorn  and  dignify  the  character  of  the  citizen,  the 
statesman,  and  the  patriot ;  therefore,  be  it 

"  Resolved,  By  the  council  and  house  of  representatives  of  the 
territory  of  Wisconsin,  That  in  his  death  the  nation  has  lost 
one  of  its  brightest  ornaments,  the  commerce  of  the  West  one  of 
its  ablest  advocates,  Wisconsin  one  of  its  warmest  friends  and 
supporters,  and  the  cause  of  universal  freedom  one  of  the  bold- 
est and  most  incorruptible  of  its  champions." 

We  have  heretofore  alluded  to  the  fact,  that  previous 
to  the  death  of  Gov.  Wright,  the  merchants  of  the  city 
of  New  York  had  commenced  preparing  a  splendid  suit 
of  plate  to  present  to  him.  He  died  before  the  work- 
men  had  completed  the  manufacture  of  it. 

After  his  death,  the  merchants  determined  to  deliver 
the  plate  to  Mrs.  Wright ;  and  Gen.  Dix  was  appointed 
to  receive,  in  her  name,  the  magnificent  donation.  It  is 
reported  that  the  value  of  the  plate  was  from  eighteen 
to  twenty  thousand  dollars.  It  was  delivered  to  Gen. 
Dix,  by  a  committee  of  merchants,  on  the  18th  of  No- 
vember. On  that  occasion  Mr.  John  D.  Van  Buren,  a 
member  of  the  committee,  made  a  brief  address,  which 
was  so  exceedingly  appropriate,  and  highly  finished  in 
style  and  manner,  and  so  enriched  with  just  and  patri- 
otic sentiments,  that  we  wish  our  limits  would  permit  us 
to  copy  the  whole  of  it. 

"We  have,"  said  Mr.  Van  Buren,  addressing  General 
Dix,  "  asked  you  to  meet  us  this  evening  to  receive,  in  behalf 
of  Mrs.  Wright,  this  service  of  plate.  It  was  prepared  as  a 
gift  from  the  merchants  of  this  city  to  Silas  Wright.  His  death 
prevented  the  fulfilment  of  our  wishes. 

"  An  occasion  to  which  we  looked  forward  as  one  of  high 
and  unmixed  pleasure,  Providence  has  decreed  should  be  a 
sad  one.  We  hoped  to  tell  him  our  high  estimate  of  his  pub- 
lic services^ — that  we  shared  in  the  confidence  and  pride  with 


PRESENTATION  OF  SERVIfT.  OF  PLATE.  737 

which  the  people  of  this  state  regarded  him  ;  that  in  this  busy 
mart  of  commerce,  devoted  to  gain,  his  simple,  earnest,  truly 
republican  character,  was  known  and  appreciated.  We  can 
now  only  with  pain  think  of  his  noble  qualities.  They  re- 
mind us  of  the  sad  loss  the  state  and  the  country  have  suf- 
fered. 

"  His  character  was  one  singularly  attractive  to  our  people, 
retaining,  to  the  last,  qualities  most  apt  to  be  worn  away  in 
the  struggles  of  public  life.  Modest,  simple  in  his  manners, 
gentle,  true  to  his  friends,  true  to  his  duties,  utterly  unselfish, 
he  secured  the  confidence  and  affection  of  the  people." 

The  following  beautiful  paragraph  concludes  the  ad- 
dress : 

"  To  you,  who  were  his  friend,  his  well-esteemed  friend,  we 
confide  the  task  of  conveying  our  gift  to  the  widow  of  Silas 
Wright.  We  can  offer  with  it  no  consolation  but  the  poor 
one,  that  she  is  not  alone  in  her  sorrow  ;  the  blow  which  fell 
with  its  chief  intensity  upon  her,  was  felt  deeply,  widely, 
throughout  the  nation.  Convey  it  to  her  in  token  of  our  last- 
ing remembrance  of  him,  and  of  the  high  regard  in  which  we 
must  ever  hold  her,  whom  he  chose  to  be  his  nearest  friend  in 
life,  and  who  has  the  deepest  interest  in  that  fame  which  is  all 
that  is  left  to  her  and  to  the  country,  of  Silas  Wright." 

Mrs.  Wright  subsequently  acknowledged  the  receipt 
of  this  rich  and  valuable  present  by  the  following  note, 
addressed  to  Gerardus  Boyce,  Esquire : 

"  CANTON,  January  22,  1848. 

"  DEAR  SIR  : — In  your  letter  of  the  26th  November,  com- 
municating to  me  the  arrangement  you  had  made  for  the  de- 
livery of  the  service  of  plate,  designed  to  have  been  presented 
to  my  lamented  husband,  you  desire  to  be  informed  of  its  safe 
transmission  and  delivery  to  me. 

"  My  brother,  Mr.  Horace  Moody,  arrived  at  Canton  on  the 
15th  of  January  instant,  and  brought  with  him  this  rich  testi- 
monial of  esteem  and  friendship  for  him  whose  death  has  left 
47 


738  LIFE  OF  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

me  desolate.  If  any  thing  could  alleviate  the  weight  of  my 
affliction  in  the  loss  of  all  that  was  really  valuable  to  me  in 
life,  it  would  be  the  constant  proofs  that  my  grief  is  shared  by 
true  and  faithful  friends,  to  many  of  whom  I  am  personally  a 
stranger. 

"  This  service  of  plate,  valuable  for  the  massive  richness  of 
the  material,  is  still  more  valuable  for  the  rare  beauty  and  me- 
chanical skill  displayed  in  its  manufacture  ;  but  its  chief  value 
to  me  is,  that  it  is  an  evidence  of  the  esteem  and  friendship  of 
the  donors  for  one  whose  memory  is  all  that  is  left  to  me  on 
earth. 

"To  you,  sir,  and  to  the  gentlemen  with  whom  you  have 
been  associated,  and  who  selected  you  as  their  agent  to  pre- 
pare this  token  of  friendship  and  esteem,  designed  for  my 
departed  husband,  I  can  only  give  my  sincere  and  heartfelt 
thanks.  "  Yours,  respectfully, 

"  CLARISSA  WRIGHT." 

The  funeral  of  Gov.  Wright  drew  together  an  im- 
mense concourse  of  people.  "  I  attended  his  funeral," 
says  a  gentleman  who  resides  in  St.  Lawrence  county, 
in  a  letter  to  the  author.  "  The  concourse  of  people 
was  greater  than  I  have  ever  before  witnessed  in  this 
county,  (except  our  political  assemblies.)  It  seemed  as 
though  each  individual  felt  that  he  had  lost  a  special 
friend,  and  was  there  a  mourner.  When  his  [Mr.  Wright's] 
old  friend  and  fellow- student  spoke  of  him,  the  flow  of 
tears  was  as  universal  in  the  audience  as  was  the  sense 
of  hearing." 

The  gentleman  referred  to  by  our  correspondent  as 
the  "  old  friend  and  fellow-student"  of  Mr.  Wright,  was 
the  Rev.  H.  S.  Johnson,  from  whom  we  have  several 
times  quoted.  The  funeral  sermon  of  Mr.  Johnson  has 
been  printed,  and  is  before  us.  He  selected  for  his  text 
the  beautiful  passage  contained  in  Isaiah,  ch.  xl.  6-8. 


MR.  JOHNSON'S  SERMON.  739 

After  a  brief  exordium,  Mr.  Johnson  says — 

"  In  view  of  the  afflicting  realities  before  us,  even  that  cheer- 
fulness which  would  be  commendable  in  our  ordinary  avoca- 
tions, would  become  criminal  levity.  Every  thing  tells  that 
this  is  an  occasion  for  serious  and  solemn  meditation.  The 
voice  of  God  bids  me  cry  that  '  all  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the 
goodliness  thereof  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field:  the  grass 
withereth,  the  flower  fadeth  :  because  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
blovveth  upon  it :  surely  the  people  is  grass.  The  grass  with- 
ereth, the  flower  fadeth  ;  but  the  word  of  our  God  shall  stand 
forever.' 

"  How  afiectingly  are  these  divine  declarations  verified  be- 
fore our  eyes  !  Only  a  few  hours  have  passed  since  Governor 
Wright  was  with  us,  in  all  the  buoyancy  of  firm  health.  If 
to  any  the  sun  of  life  might  seem  high  and  promise  a  long  day, 
it  was  so  to  him.  But  that  sun  went  down  in  a  moment,  and  all 
is  dark.  The  Great  Architect  bid  the  wheels  of  life  stop,  and 
no  finite  power  can  move  them.  Without  flickering  in  the 
least,  the  lamp  is  extinguished,  and  the  gloom  is  absolute — it 
is  darkness  that  may  be  felt. 

"  Standing  as  we  now  do,  where  the  widest  prospects  have 
instantly  been  enveloped  with  clouds,  and  where  the  highest 
hopes  of  all  that  is  earthly  have  fled,  our  thoughts  naturally 
turn  back  along  the  path  through  which  Mr.  Wright  ascended 
to  the  most  distinguishing  honors  and  the  most  commanding 
influence. 

"  My  acquaintance  with  this  friend  commenced  in  the  year 
1811.  In  early  life  we  were  treading  together  the  halls  of 
science.  I  knew  him  there  as  an  industrious  and  diligent  stu- 
dent, and  as  one  of  the  most  upright  and  sober  young  men. 
I  say  this  from  positive  personal  knowledge,  and  I  say  it  firmly, 
because  I  have  heard  misapprehension  intimate  that  Gov. 
Wright  was  then  indulging  in  some  excesses.  He  was  there 
distinguished  for  moral  honesty,  and  for  an  unbending  regard 
to  the  truth.  His  inflexible  attachment  to  truth  and  fairness 
was  there,  as  it  has  been  through  all  his  life,  proverbial.  I 
have  heard  from  those  who  could  not  be  mistaken,  that  even 


740  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

in  the  days  of  his  earliest  childhood,  his  regard  to  truth  and 
fair  dealing  was  known,  and  marked,  and  controlling.  These 
principles,  thus  deeply  infixed,  did  much  in  laying  the  founda- 
tion for  his  unexampled  elevation  in  after-life. 

"  Mr.  Wright  graduated  with  honor  and  respect.  Having 
completed  his  preparatory  legal  studies,  and  being  licensed  as 
an  attorney,  in  October,  1819,  he  became  an  inhabitant  of  this 
town.  The  efficiency  and  success  with  which  he  conducted 
the  business  of  his  profession  are  too  well  known,  and  too 
vividly  recollected,  to  require  being  repeated.  One  of  his 
leading  traits  in  his  profession  was  to  discountenance  and  do 
away  all  low  and  scurrilous  litigation.  *  *  *  * 

"  There  is  something  peculiar  and  extraordinary  in  the  on- 
ward progress  through  which  Mr.  Wright  ascended,  amid  ac- 
cumulating honors  and  responsibilities.  Without  powerful 
friends,  he  secured,  by  his  own  unaided  efforts,  the  patronage 
of  the  state  and  the  nation.  *  *  *  * 

"  In  the  old  world  a  nation  is  afflicted  when  their  prince 
expires.  But  there  the  statesmen  are  organized  and  trained 
to  fill  the  vacated  space.  In  America  it  is  different.  Our 
nation  is  in  its  infancy — the  experiment  we  are  making  is  new 
— the  hopes  and  interests  of  the  world  are  identified  with  our 
success.  Every  thing  with  us  is  moulding  and  forming.  Of 
necessity,  conflicting  claims  will  arise  and  threaten  with  disaster 
the  best  hopes  of  the  country.  With  us  the  loss  of  a  far-seeing 
and  able  statesman,  who  enjoys  the  cheerful  suffrages  of  the 
great  majority,  is  not  only  afflicting,  but  it  may  be  perilous." 

The  peroration  of  this  eloquent  address  is  highly  pa- 
thetic and  inimitably  beautiful,  and  with  it  we  conclude 
the  LIFE  OF  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

"  We  can  scarcely  suppose,"  says  the  orator,  "  that  such 
an  affecting  example  of  the  uncertainty  of  life,  as  this  provi- 
dence arrays  before  us,  can  fail  of  impressing  serious  reflections 
on  the  minds  of  all.  It  is  difficult  tor  me  to  imagine  that  de- 
gree of  apathy  and  insensibility  which  will  resist  such  a  warn- 
ing. Can  one  of  the  pillars  of  the  nation  be  removed,  and  we 
feel  it  not  ?  Can  a  friend  the  most  familiar  and  kind  retire, 


CHARACTER  OF  MR.   WRIGHT.  741 

and  we  heed  it  not  ?  No.  Our  friend,  thou  hast  waved  us  a 
long  adieu,  and  we  are  overwhelmed !  No  more  shall  thy 
vigilance  watch  with  solicitude  the  interests  of  our  country ! 
No  more  will  thy  voice,  from  the  legislative  halls,  electrify  the 
nation  !  No  more  shall  thy  smiles  gladden  the  home  which 
was  ever  happy  in  thy  presence  !  Thou  hast  given  up  that 
home  to  loneliness,  to  solitude,  and  sorrow  !  Dark  is  the  cloud 
which  spreads  over  the  habitation  of  thy  widowed  compan- 
ion !  Anguish  thrills  in  all  our  hearts  as  we  bid  thee  adieu, 
and  lay  thy  remains  down  to  rest  in  the  slumber  of  the  grave  !" 

We  shall  not  attempt  to  portray  minutely  the  charac-  ' 
ter  of  SILAS  WRIGHT.  That  portraiture  is  best  delinea- 
ted by  the  record  of  the  story  of  his  life.  His  candor, 
his  integrity  of  purpose,  his  unaffected  modesty,  his  be- 
nevolence, his  great  and  vigorous  intellectual  power, 
which  always  rendered  him  equal  to  any  emergency, 
and  his  lofty  patriotism,  are  manifest  in  every  act,  and 
in  every  stage  of  his  private  and  public  life.  There  are, 
however,  a  few  prominent  features  in  the  character  of 
his  mind,  which,  in  reviewing  his  history,  stand  out  in 
such  bold  relief,  that  it  may  be  proper  barely  to  allude 
to  them. 

One  of  the  qualities  for  which  he  was  more  distin- 
guished than  almost  any  other  man,  was  the  entire  ab- 
sence of  all  selfishness,  and  an  unbounded  devotion  to 
the  interest  and  wishes  of  his  friends,  and  to  the  cause  of 
the  political  party  to  which  he  belonged.  Perhaps  men, 
scrupulously  sensitive  to  error,  may  think  that  Mr. 
Wright  sometimes  yielded  too  much  to  what  he  deemed 
the  interest  of  his  own  political  party,  and  may  refer  to 
his  conduct  in  the  senate  of  this  state  in  1824,  in  rela- 
tion to  an  electoral  law,  and  his  course  in  the  United 
States  house  of  representatives  in  1828,  on  the  tariff  bill. 
These  are  the  only  instances  in  which,  during  more  than 


742  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

twenty  years'  public  service,  charges  of  this  nature  can 
be  made  against  him  with  even  the  semblance  of  plausi- 
bility. But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  Mr.  Wright 
sincerely  believed  that  the  ascendency  of  the  party  to 
which  he  belonged  was  essential  to  secure  and  promote 
the  prosperity  of  his  country,  and  its  highest  and  most 
vital  interest.  While  therefore  we  protest  against  the 
casuistic  and  false  position,  that  the  end  justifies  the 
means,  or  that  one  should  "  do  evil  that  good  may 
•  come,"  we  insist  that  Mr.  Wright  may  have  conscien- 
tiously yielded  his  own  judgment  to  that  of  the  majority 
of  his  political  friends  on  trifling  and  unimportant  ques- 
tions, for  the  purpose  of  contributing  to  that  union  and 
harmony  among  them,  which  was  absolutely  necessary 
in  order  to  prevent  their  total  prostration  by  the  adverse 
party.  Possibly,  in  the  solitary  instances  mentioned,  he 
may  have  erred,  but  such  errors  were  those  of  the  head, 
and  not  of  his  pure  and  honest  heart. 

In  proof  of  his  readiness  to  sacrifice  his  own  ease  and 
quiet,  and  his  most  favorite  predilections,  for  the  grati- 
fication of  his  friends,  and  the  supposed  advancement 
of  the  cause  in  which  he  was  embarked,  we  refer  to  the 
consent  which,  with  the  most  painful  reluctance,  he 
yielded  to  take  upon  himself  the  government  of  this 
state  against  his  expressed  wishes,  and  against  what  he 
knew  to  be  his  personal  interest ;  and  that  he  made  this 
sacrifice  partly  with  the  view  of  securing  the  election  of 
a  man  to  the  office  of  president  of  the  United  States, 
whose  nomination  to  that  office  he  had  opposed.  We 
may  also,  as  evidence  of  his  utter  disregard  to  self- 
aggrandizement,  his  devotion  to  his  friends,  and  his  nice 
and  high  sense  of  honor,  remind  the  reader  of  his  refusal 
of  a  seat  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  na- 


CHARACTER  OF  MR.   WRIGHT.  74.*} 

tion,  also  of  the  second  office  in  the  government,  and 
his  declining  a  competition  for  the  first. 

"  He  was,"  says  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague,  in  his  sermon 
from  which  we  have  quoted  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
"gifted  with  uncommon  perception  of  the  fitting  and 
graceful  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  While  he  had  a  high 
respect  for  plebeian  honesty,  and  could,  as  occasion  re- 
quired, put  on  the  plebeian  himself,  there  was  no  circle 
of  society  so  polished,  but  that  he  was  as  much  at  home 
in  it  as  if  it  were  the  only  sphere  in  which  he  had  ever 
moved."  His  temper  must  have  been  by  nature  un- 
commonly peaceful  and  quiet.  What  politician  has  ex- 
isted, either  in  England  or  America,  who  for  twenty 
years  was  a  leading  and  efficient  member  of  a  legisla- 
tive body,  a  zealous  and  active  party  leader,  and  who 
had  taken  a  decided  part  in  all  the  exciting  debates 
which  legislation  called  forth,  who  was  never  drawn 
into  a  personal  controversy,  and  who  never  wounded 
the  feelings  of  the  most  sensitive  opponent  ?  Yet  such 
a  man  was  SILAS  WRIGHT. 

We  will  mention  one  other  distinguishing  trait  in  the 
character  of  the  mind  of  Mr.  Wright — a  trait  to  which, 
in  connection  with  his  great  talents  and  merit,  he  owed 
his  splendid  and  uniform  success  in  life.  Though  he 
possessed  all  the  mental  faculties  incident  to  the  human 
intellect,  in  great  perfection  and  vigor,  they  were  re- 
markably well  balanced.  "His  blood  and  judgment 
were  so  well  commingled"  that  he  was  always,  even 
during  the  most  exciting  scenes,  calm  and  quiet,  self- 
possessed,  and  self-governed.  He  was  firm,  but  not 
obstinate ;  benevolent,  but  not  imprudent ;  cool  and 
calculating,  but  not  selfish ;  convivial,  but  not  a  devotee 
of  pleasure  ;  economical,  but  not  avaricious ;  imagina- 


744  LIFE    OF    SILAS    WRIGHT. 

live,  but  not  visionary  ;  and  an  ardent  friend,  but  liberal 
and  kind  to  his  opponents. 

From  the  life  of  Silas  Wright,  the  youth  of  our  coun- 
try may  derive  lessons  of  inestimable  value. 

"  He  has  taught  us,"  says  Mr.  Attorney -general  Gilpin,  in 
his  eulogy  on  Mr.  Wright,  delivered  before  an  association  of 
young  men  in  Philadelphia,  "  that  unruffled  content  may  be 
won  ;  that  the  loftiest  fame  may  be  reached  ;  that  social  rela- 
tions, various  and  refined,  may  be  happily  enjoyed ;  that  be- 
neficence may  be  largely  practised,  in  all  its  shades  of  public 
service  and  private  intercourse,  without  the  possession,  nay, 
without  the  desire,  of  fortune,  beyond  the  humblest  compe- 
tence. He  has  taught  us  that  influence,  and  station,  and 
power,  may  be  used  without  once  seeking  to  pervert  them  to 
a  selfish  or  unworthy  purpose  ;  that  manly  adherence  to  po- 
litical opinions,  carefully  formed  and  honestly  maintained,  is 
never  inconsistent  with  the  great  obligations  of  conciliation, 
forbearance,  and  generous  compromise  ;  that  honors  declined 
can  confer  more  happiness  and  glory  than  those  which  are  re- 
ceived ;  that  intelligence  the  brightest,  in  a  sphere  the  most 
conspicuous,  derives  new  lustre  and  wields  more  power  from 
a  modesty  always  unassuming,  and  a  temper  which  never 
wounds  ;  and,  above  all,  that  the  blessings  of  domestic  life,  so 
endearing  and  attractive,  may  ever  be  preserved  unsullied  to 
soothe  and  cheer  the  hours  most  devoted  to  our  country's  ser- 
vice. If,  indeed,  this  great  and  good  man  exhibited — as  who 
can  doubt  ? — the  severe  virtue,  the  steady  purpose,  the  devoted 
patriotism,  and  the  broad  philanthropy  that  marked  the  char- 
acter of  the  Roman  statesman,  let  us  not  forget  that  he  has 
taught  us  to  blend  with  them  a  spirit  more  gentle  and  forbear- 
ing— that  spirit  which  should  distinguish  a  people  whose 
bond  is  one  of  justice,  reason,  and  affection,  and  to  whom 
have  been  revealed  the  divine  lessons  of  a  milder  and  purer 
faith." 


APPENDIX. 


NOTE— REFERRED  TO  IN  PAGE  491. 

AFTER  the  preceding  sheets  were  in  type  the  author  received 
two  original  letters,  on  the  subject  of  the  nomination  for  the 
office  of  governor  by  the  democratic  suite  convention,  written 
by  Mr.  Wright  in  1844.  These  letters 'were  written  at  Can- 
ton, three  days  before  the  meeting  of  the  convention  at  Syra- 
cuse, and,  beyond  all  doubt,  express  frankly  and  truly  his 
feelings  and  wishes  at  that  time.  It  is  due  to  his  memory 
that  they  should  be  published  in  connection  with  the  history 
of  his  life  ;  because. — although  during  the  winter  and  summer 
of  1844,  and  until  he  was  actually  nominated  for  governor  ;it 
Syracuse,  Mr.  Wright  repeatedly  and  uniformly  declared,  nn 
lie  had  done  in  1842,*  that  he  was  unwilling  to  be  a  candidate 
for  that  office — that  he  earnestly  desired  the  nomination  of 
some  other  person — and  that  he  would  not  be  a  candidate 
against  any  republican  competitor  in  the  convention, — many 
persons  who  thought  Gov.  Bouck  ought  to  be  renominated, 
(and  the  author  was  one  of  them,)  believed,  from  the  fact  that 
several  of  Mr.  Wright's  most  confidential  friends  urged,  and 
continued  at  the  convention  to  urge  the  nomination  of  Mr.  W., 
that  such  nomination  would  not  be  entirely  disagreeable  to 
him.  If  any  such  suspicion  is  at  this  day  entertained,  the  fol- 
lowing letters  must  dispel  all  doubt  from  the  minds  of  the 
most  skeptical. 

These  letters  must  have  been  delivered  to  Messrs.  Allen  and 
Russell,  who  were  delegates  from  St.  Lawrence  county,  at  the 


See  Gov.  Wright's  letter  to  Judge  Fine,  page  307. 


746  APPENDIX. 

moment  of  their  departure  for  Syracuse,  as  they  bear  date  the 
31st  of  August,  and  the  convention  met  on  the  2d  of  Septem- 
ber. One  of  the  letters  was  addressed  to  those  gentlemen  in 
their  official  capacity,  probably  with  the  view  that  it  should 
be  communicated  to  the  convention,  or  to  some  of  its  leading 
members  ;  and  the  other,  which  we  have  marked  B,  on  which 
was  inscribed  the  word  "private"  in  Gov.  Wright's  own  hand- 
writing, was  sacredly  confidential.  Can  there  be  the  least  pos- 
sible doubt  that  this  letter,  which  was  intended  to  contain,  and 
did  contain,  the  last  words  of  Mr.  Wright  on  the  subject  of 
the  gubernatorial  nomination,  and  which  was  addressed  to  the 
delegates  from  his  own  county,  both  of  whom  were  his  per- 
sonal friends,  speaks  the  honest  sentiments  of  his  heart  ? 

In  this  communication  Mr.  Wright  not  only  disclaims  any 
wish  to  be  a  candidate,  or  indeed  any  desire  for  the  office  of 
governor,  but  there  runs  through  the  whole  of  it  a  tone  of 
supplication  and  entreaty  that  his  two  friends  would  exert  their 
most  strenuous  efforts  to  relieve  him  from  the  necessity  of 
making  the  sacrifice  "of  personal  feeling,  domestic  feeling, 
private  interest,  and  public  prospects  for  the  future" — *a  sacri- 
fice which  he  foresaw  would  result  from  his  acceptance  of  the 
office  of  governor. 

The  author  is  indebted  for  these  letters  to  the  courtesy  and 
kindness  of  the  Hon.  Horace  Allen  and  the  Hon.  John  Fine, 
to  whom  the  originals  will  be  returned. 

[A.] 

"  CANTON,  August  31,  1844. 

"  GENTLEMEN — As  the  delegates  to  represent  this  county  in  the  state 
convention,  to  be  held  ut  Syracuse  on  the  4th  day  of  the  next  month,  I 
find  it  necessary  to  trouble  you  with  a  communication  of  a  personal  char- 
acter. 

"  You  are  well  aware  that  my  name  has  been  used  in  connection  with 
the  nomination  of  a  republican  candidate  for  the  office  of  governor  of  the 
state,  a  nomination  which  the  convention  of  which  you  are  members  is  to 
make.  I  believe  you  also  know  that  I  do  not  desire  that  office,  and  that 
my  name  has  been  used  as  a  candidate  for  it  without  my  consent,  and 
against  my  wishes. 


APPENDIX,  747 

That  you  may  be  possessed  of  the  position  which  I  have  felt  myself 
compelled  publicly  to  assume  upon  this  subject,  I  hand  you,  enclosed,  a 
copy  of  a  publication  made  in  the  St.  Lawrence  Republican,  at  my  re- 
quest, on  the  sixth  day  of  the  present  month.  By  that  position  it  baa 
been,  and  is  my  purpose — as  I  consider  it  to  be  my  duty — strictly  to  adhere  j 
and  if  any  use  of  my  name,  since  it  was  thus  distinctly  assumed,  has 
seemed  to  be  in  conflict  with  it,  I  can  only  say,  that  it  has  been  without 
my  authority,  as  it  has  been  against  my  determinations  thus  explicitly 
pronounced.  I  cannot  express  more  reluctance  than  I  feel  against  the  use 
of  my  name  as  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  governor,  under  any  circum- 
stances ;  and  I  have  only  been  restrained  from  going  further,  in  limiting, 
or  wholly  interdicting  that  use,  from  the  fear  that  I  should  transcend  my 
rights  as  a  member  of  the  democratic  party  of  the  state,  in  the  present 
eujoyment  of  its  honors  and  rewards,  or  violate  my  duty  to  that  great 
political  party  which  has  been  so  faithful  and  liberal  to  me  through  a  long 
term  of  years. 

"  The  length  to  which  I  have  gone  appears  to  me  to  be  in  strict  accord- 
auce  witli  my  rights  and  my  duties.  To  refuse  to  become  the  instrument 
of  an  interruption  of  the  harmony  of  feeling  or  action  of  the  democratic 
party  of  our  state,  is  an  obligation  upon  me,  strengthened  and  enforced  by 
every  favor  I  have  received  from  it,  and  every  honor  it  has  conferred 
upon  me,  and  not  to  obey  it  would  be,  in  my  estimation,  the  most  palpa- 
ble  violation  of  a  plaiu  duty  on  my  part. 

"  Hence  I  have  said  that.  '  I  have  no  right^  in  my  judgment,  to  be- 
come,  and  cannot,  under  any  circumstances,  consent  to  be  made  a  com- 
petitor for  the  nomination,  either  before  the  people  or  the  state  convention! 
against  any  republican  who  is,  or  who  may  become  a  candidate.' 

"  Before  the  people  I  have  done  all  in  my  power  to  avoid  being  placed 
in  the  position  of  a  competitor  for  this  nomination  ;  and  I  now  invoke 
your  aid  to  enable  me,  if  it  shall  become  necessary,  to  redeem  my  pledge, 
as  it  respects  the  convention.  I  entertain  the  confident  hope  that  you 
will  not,  under  any  circumstances,  feel  it  to  be  your  duty,  as  delegates 
from  this  county,  to  place  my  name  before  the  convention  at  all  ;  and 
should  it  be  brought  before  it  by  others,  in  a  manner  to  place  it  in  con- 
flict or  competition  with  any  other  name  before  the  body  as  a  candidate) 
I  not  only  authorize  you  severally,  but  enjoin  it  upon  you,  so  far  as  you 
will  permit  me  to  do  that,  or  so  far  as  I  have  the  right  of  a  constituent  to 
do  it,  to  withdraw  it  wholly,  and  to  declare  for  me,  that  I  cannot  accept 
a  nomination  made  against  a  resistance  of  the  friends  of  any  other  candi- 
date. The  only  right  of  our  party  to  command  the  use  of  my  name,  is 
I  think)  is  to  secure  its  harmony  of  feeling  and  action  ;  and  when  these 
cannot  be  secured  by  its  use,  the  duty  upon  me  promptly  to  withdraw  if 
altogether,  appears  to  me  as  plain  as  the  right  to  do  so  does  clear  and  nn- 
questionable. 

<;  I  am  sure,  gentlemen,  you  each  sufficiently  know  and  appreciate  my 


748  AIM'KNDIX. 

feelings  upon  this  delicate  and  responsible  subject  to  be  willing  to  con>j!v 
with  the  request  I  make,  when  you  are  assured  it  is  made  more  strongly 
under  the  sense  of  a  solemn  and  imperious  public  duty,  which  I  should 
not  fail  fully  to  discharge,  than  in  the  spirit  of  the  assertion  of  a  right,  al- 
though to  be  exercised  so  much  in  accordance  with  my  personal  feeling 
and  wishes. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen,  with  great  respect, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  SILAS  WRIGHT. 
"  Messrs.  HORACE  ALLEN  and  JOHN  L.  RUSSELL,  Esqrs.,  Delegates,  &c  " 


(PRIVATE.)  [  B.  ] 

"  CANTON,  August  31,  1844. 

MY  DEAR  SIR — Enclosed  I  hand  you  a  duplicate  of  the  communication 
of  which  we  spoke,  and  which  I  promised  to  place  in  the  hands  of  your- 
self and  Mr.  Russell  in  the  course  of  our  conversation  on  Thursday.  I 
have  made  duplicates,  because  it  may  be  more  convenient  that  both  Mr. 
Russell  and  yourself  should  have  a  copy,  and  I  place  the  other  in  his 
hands.  I  do  not  know  that  I  can  add  any  thing  to  the  views  which  I 
offered  in  that  conversation,  and  what  I  have  said  in  the  enclosed.  If 
the  renomination  of  Gov.  Bonck  can  be  made  satisfactory  to  the  conven- 
tion and  our  party,  I  shall  be  most  happy  at  such  a  result.*  If  that 
cannot  be  done,  and  the  convention  can  agree  to  set  aside  both  his  narnc 
and  mine,  and  take  that  of  some  worthy  member  of  the  party  who  has 
not  been  brought  before  the  public,  I  verily  believe  more  entire  harmony 
of  feeling  and  action  will  be  likely  to  be  secured.  In  any  event,  I  can- 
not look  upon  my  nomination  as  promising  auspicious  results,  present  or 
future  ;  and  I  cannot  he  mistaken  in  insisting  that  my  name  should  not 
be  v#ed  in  any  event,  but  with  the  free  assent  of  the  friends  of  all  other 
candidates,  and  most  especially  those  of  Gov.  B.  I  do  not  anticipate 
that  such  assent  will  be  met  with,  and  I  entreat  that  Mr.  Russell  and 
yourself  will  not  hesitate  for  a  moment  to  withdraw  my  name  wholly,  in 
case  it  shall  be  brought  before  the  convention,  and  shall  become  the  sub- 
ject of  any  difference  of  opinion  or  feeling  among  its  members. 

"  It  must  be  true  that,  if  entire  harmony  cannot  be  experienced,  my 
name  should  not  be  made  the  cause  of  any  degree  of  division.  My  posi- 
tion and  the  place  I  now  hold  should  forbid  that,  and  should  distinguish 
me  from  other  candidates  not  similarly  situated,  if  there  is  to  be  division. 
Hence  I  have  given  to  the  communication  enclosed  the  shape  I  have,  and 
this  is  the  spirit  in  which  I  have  made  the  request  it  contains,  and  in 
which  I  wish  to  have  that  request  understood  and  carried  out. 

*  The  passages  m  italics  have  been  so  distinguished  by  J.  D.  H. 


APPENDIX.  749 

"  You  will  pardon  me,  I  hope,  for  referring  here  to  my  personal  feel- 
ings upon  this  subject.  /  cannot,  as  I  have  said,  express  more  reluc- 
tance than  I  feel  against  being  a  candidate  for  this  office,  under  any 
circumstances,  and  my  reasons  rest  upon  considerations  of  personal  feel- 
ing, domestic  feeling,  private  interest,  and  public  prospects  for  the  future, 
so  far  as  I  can  read  them,  as  conuected  with  myself  and  my  services.  I 
will  not  attempt  to  detail  these  considerations  to  you  as  they  pass  through 
my  own  rnind,  but  will  express  the  earnest  hope,  that  Mr.  Russell  and 
yourself  will  find  it  consistent  with  your  sense  of  your  responsible  duties  as 
members  of  the  convention,  so  far  from  using  efforts  to  throw  this  nomi- 
nation upon  me,  to  be  the  means  of  averting  that  result.  I  do  not  ask 
you  to  violate  any  duty  to  the  public  to  favor  my  personal  wishes,  but  I 
do  hope  that  it  may  be  found  expedient  not  to  attempt  the  use  of  my  name 
at  all ;  and  if  brought  before  the  convention,  I  will  rest  assured  that  both 
of  you  will  be  prompt  to  withdraw  it  wholly,  the  moment  the  contingency 
shall  happen  upon  which  I  have  based  that  request. 

•'  Pardon  me  for  giving  you  so  much  trouble.  I  shall  not  give  Mr. 
Russell  a  copy  of  this  private  note,  but  shall  read  this  to  him  before  I  en- 
close it  for  you. 

"  You  must  not  consider  me,  in  either  of  these  communications,  as 
holding  or  treating  lightly  our  success  in  the  state  at  the  pending  elec- 
tion. With  harmony  of  feeling  and  action,  success  is,  in  my  deliberate 
opinion,  perfectly  in  the  power  of  our  party,  and  I  will  make  any  sacri- 
fice in  my  power  to  produce  that  harmony.  Still,  with  it,  I  do  not  think 
it  at  all  material  what  name  is  upon  our  ticket  for  governor :  success 
would,  in  my  judgment,  be  equally  certain  with  any  ;  while,  without  it, 
there  will  be  danger  with  any  name,  and  I  should  not  be  the  man  to  ap- 
pear to  cause  division.  These  are  my  convictions,  most  deeply  enter- 
tained. 

"  In  much  haste,  I  am  most  truly  yours, 

"  SILAS  WRIGHT 

"  HON.  HORACE  ALLEN." 


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